{"id":3834,"date":"2017-02-16T14:14:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T19:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsoccer.com\/?p=3834"},"modified":"2017-02-13T15:05:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T20:05:00","slug":"mls-expansion-profile-cincinnati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2017\/02\/16\/mls-expansion-profile-cincinnati\/","title":{"rendered":"MLS Expansion Profile: Cincinnati"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of last month, 12 cities officially applied for MLS expansion<\/a>. One of those was Cincinnati. In 2016, FC Cincinnati burst onto the\u00a0American soccer scene and shattered USL attendance records. Continuing that\u00a0trend, the team recently announced the sale of\u00a0over ten thousand\u00a0season tickets in advance of the 2017 season. Big crowds and season ticket sales are good indicators of Cincinnati’s appetite for an MLS team, but is attendance enough? Does Cincinnati have what it takes beyond the numbers to earn a spot in American’s top division?<\/p>\n

MLS Expansion Profile: Cincinnati<\/h2>\n

Ownership Group and Stadium Plan<\/h3>\n

Carl Lindner III leads a\u00a0group of investors that owns\u00a0FC Cincinnati and steers\u00a0their bid for MLS expansion. Lindner III is the co-CEO of the American Financial\u00a0Group<\/a> and the son of one of Cincinnati’s most successful businessmen, the late Carl H. Lindner, Jr.<\/p>\n

His father, who was\u00a0worth an estimated\u00a0$2.2B in 2006<\/a>, helped build the\u00a0family’s fortune by turning the family dairy business into a successful chain of convenience stores. The family\u00a0parlayed that success into banking and insurance, founding the American Financial Group, a Fortune 500 company. The family has professional sports credentials\u00a0as well. Carl Lindner Jr. held a controlling ownership in MLB’s\u00a0Cincinnati Reds\u00a0from 1995 until\u00a02005.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Lindner III is\u00a0the team’s financial front-man, former Cincinnati Bengals executive (and former\u00a0city councilman) Jeff Berding is\u00a0the\u00a0President and General Manager of the club. Berding is a part owner, and is the most active spokesperson for both the USL team\u00a0and the\u00a0MLS expansion bid.<\/p>\n

FC Cincinnati currently plays at Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati (UC). The university\u00a0has strong ties to the Lindner family, and the UC\u00a0business school is named after Carl Lindner, Jr. The club\u00a0invested in the 102\u00a0year-old stadium last year when they resurfaced the field with a FIFA approved field turf prior to their first season. They are investing an additional $2 million prior to the start of the 2017\u00a0season to widen the field\u00a0to a FIFA regulation width.<\/p>\n

MLS wants their teams to play in a soccer specific stadium that they own. Don Garber emphasized\u00a0that point when he visited Cincinnati last November<\/a>. FC Cincinnati included “initial thoughts” on a newly constructed soccer stadium<\/a> in their MLS application. Ownership is still bullish on their current stadium arrangement however. They will build if MLS demands it, but they are not giving up on Nippert easily.<\/p>\n

Details of the stadium plan included in the MLS application are sparse. The ownership group prefers to remain confidential and understated relative to other bids. There are no stadium renderings, promotional websites, stadium cost\u00a0numbers, or publicly-targeted site locations that other ownership groups\u00a0seem\u00a0pleased\u00a0to provide.<\/p>\n

Current Soccer Environment<\/h3>\n

Several attempts have\u00a0been made since the 1970’s to bring professional soccer to\u00a0the Queen City. Pro soccer isn’t new to Cincinnati, but financially successful pro soccer with big business backing is. None of FC Cincinnati’s predecessors had anything close the financial muscle, sports management clout, or corporate sponsorship that\u00a0FC Cincinnati currently enjoys.<\/p>\n

Like many midwestern cities, soccer has been\u00a0a part of the town’s culture for some time, but primarily at the youth level. The city boasts an array of clubs and development programs supporting over 50,000 youth players.<\/p>\n

The response to FC Cincinnati’s first USL season revealed\u00a0a pent-up demand for professional soccer. FC Cincinnati hosted a mid-summer friendly with Crystal Palace of the English Premier League. They sold out Nippert Stadium for that match, drawing over 35,000 people.<\/p>\n

The other professional teams in Cincinnati\u00a0are making things\u00a0easier on FC Cincinnati. The Reds and Bengals have both turned in\u00a0their worst seasons\u00a0in recent memory. Sports fans aren’t hesitating to turn their attention to\u00a0the new show in town.<\/p>\n

Other Contributing Factors<\/h3>\n

Cincinnati has a few natural obstacles to overcome. It’s TV market size is smaller than most of the cities competing for expansion. Also, its close proximity to Columbus (just over 100 miles away) means it’s not adding much to the MLS coverage map. While\u00a0Cincinnatians will disagree, Cincinnati also\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0have\u00a0the allure that destinations like San Diego or Tampa might have in MLS’s eyes.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati is good at business though. It boasts ten Fortune 500 companies and two Fortune 50 powerhouses in Kroger and Proctor &\u00a0Gamble.\u00a0FC Cincinnati has been able to rack up sponsorships in its first year, to the point where Louisville City coach James O’Connor called out the challenge<\/a> of competing with their gate revenue and corporate\u00a0support.<\/p>\n

Cincinnati is also having an urban rebirth. The town is\u00a0benefitting from recent\u00a0investment in its downtown, especially in the\u00a0historic Over the Rhine neighborhood. It’s becoming especially popular with young professionals, who\u00a0are finding a renewed interest in making the city their home.\u00a0Cincinnati has recently featured on several lists of\u00a0up and coming cities. These include Forbes Best Cities for College Graduates, Forbes Top 20 Cities for Young Professionals, and Realtor.com’s\u00a0Top 10 Trendiest Cities That You Can Still Afford To Buy In<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Overall Chances<\/h3>\n

In December, Garber established that MLS\u00a0will make their expansion decisions based on\u00a0(1) committed ownership with resources to invest in soccer infrastructure, (2) an attractive market that is geographically desirable, has fan support, and is attractive to TV and corporate sponsors and, (3) a comprehensive stadium plan.<\/p>\n

The Cincinnati bid is well rounded. The current\u00a0ownership, experienced pro-sports management, corporate presence, and fan\u00a0support rival the best of the other eleven markets. Will those factors\u00a0be enough to overcome its market size and geographic location?<\/p>\n

A lot rides on the stadium plan as a differentiator. There’s not a lot of information available on that plan, so it’s hard to handicap the city’s\u00a0chances\u00a0without details on that key piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n

A lot also rides on how\u00a0MLS weighs\u00a0the different decision-making criteria. If MLS just wants the biggest markets available, then Cincinnati, even with their record setting numbers, may\u00a0get left out in the cold.\u00a0If MLS is\u00a0seriously considering the smaller markets AND\u00a0the\u00a0stadium plan impresses the MLS expansion committee, then Cincinnati has a good chance of adding a third major league franchise to the Queen City.<\/p>\n

Previous MLS Expansion Profile Articles<\/h4>\n

Sacramento<\/a>
\nSt. Louis<\/a>
\nDetroit
\n<\/a>Nashville
\n<\/a>Tampa\/St. Petersburg<\/a>
\nPhoenix
\n<\/a>Raleigh\/Durham
\n<\/a>Indianapolis
\n<\/a>Charlotte<\/a>
\nSan Diego<\/a><\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n