FC Cincinnati Stadium Progress

Take a look at progress on FC Cincinnati’s $250M stadium: PHOTOS bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/07/13/fc-cincinnati-stadium-tour.html

By Tom Demeropolis – Senior Staff Reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier 2 hours ago

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Construction of FC Cincinnati’s $250 million soccer-specific stadium in the West End hit an important milestone last week.

The final steel beam was placed on Thursday, July 9. The beam was the last of 10,000 tons of U.S. fabricated steel in the West End Stadium.

Jeff Berding, president of FC Cincinnati, said it has been “enormously important” for construction to continue on the stadium during the coronavirus pandemic. Even though the pandemic has caused some materials to be delayed, the project is still on track to be completed in time for the 2021 MLS season. The FC Cincinnati stadium construction site has not had any incidents of Covid-19, Berding said.

“We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, so public health has to be No. 1,” Berding said. “But it’s a real credit to Turner, Jostin and our entire stadium construction team that they and all the workers have taken the public health requirements very seriously.”

To get a look at progress of the stadium, click on the photos above.

Turner Construction Co. has partnered with Jostin Construction on construction of the stadium. Populous designed the West End Stadium, with architecture support provided locally by Elevar Design Group.

During work days in July, Turner officials said about $1 million per day was being spent on the West End Stadium project. The project is expected to hit peak employment of about 450 workers on the site soon.

Berding said the stadium has both a direct and indirect impact on the region.

“The direct is it’s a $250 million privately financed stadium,” Berding said. “We’ve been very successful. Over 78% of contracts have gone to minority business enterprises, small business enterprises, women business enterprises. That’s over $160 million into local small businesses.”

Indirectly, soccer is the world’s biggest sport, Berding said. As the rest of the world is watching what’s happening with soccer in the U.S., Cincinnati will have the largest soccerspecific stadium in the country with the most suites and club seats.

“This is a magnificent stadium,” Berding said. “That will be a statement on the world stage, a very ambitious statement on Cincinnati’s behalf.”

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Berding said he is proud of the construction team and the work they have done during a pandemic, the minority participation on the project and the high level of involvement the West End neighborhood has had on the project.

The Bailey will be double the size of the Bailey at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium, with room for nearly 3,200 fans.

The north scoreboard, at the same end of the stadium as the Bailey, will be the largest scoreboard in a soccer stadium in the U.S., Berding said.

There will be 59 suites in West End Stadium, the most of any MLS venue that doesn’t also host an NFL team. The stadium will have four premium club areas with a total capacity of 4,500.

Seat installation at the stadium is scheduled to begin this fall, along with the scoreboards and grass. The exterior of the stadium is expected to be complete in February 2021, with interiors completed and a grand opening in spring 2021.

A lot of work has been completed since steel started going vertical at the end of 2019.

FC Cincinnati lost its first game back since the pandemic begin, losing 4-0 to the Columbus Crew in Orlando Saturday. The team will next take on Atlanta United Thursday, July 16, at 9 a.m.

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