Soccer It To Me, Cincy

Things just got a lot more complicated in soccer club FC Cincinnati's bid to join Nashville and Miami in MLS expansion bids as the franchise's plans to put a new stadium in West End  has drawn the attention of the Cincinnati NAACP, and rightfully so.

As FC Cincinnati pursuesland acquisition in the West End for a possible MLS stadium, the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP is demanding "full transparency and engagement of the community." 

FC President and General Manager Jeff Berding has pledged both, but at a public meeting Tuesday night in which the team secured the right to buy land in the West End no details were given about where a stadium would be located. 

"The West End is a historically African American neighborhood that over the years has seen the fabric of its community strategically and systematically torn apart and gentrified in the name of 'progress' and unfulfilled promises," the group wrote in a press release sent to the media Wednesday morning. 

Berding, in a statement Tuesday night, said that the land FC Cincinnati considering buying from the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority will be used for single-family homes: 

"For the stadium to be a great addition to the neighborhood, this enormous sports facility investment should also bring with it increased density with more housing for new residents, more offices and workers, more retail and entertainment, and of course, more community facilities," the statement said.

He pledged FCC will do "a pro-active community engagement process with residents, stakeholders and those with historic ties to the West End" and that the club and its owners "are fully committed to extensive community engagement, and those activities will be forthcoming soon." 

The CMHA board voted Tuesday to give FC Cincinnati the option to buy 66 parcels of land south of Liberty Street. The team has a year to act on the option. 

The NAACP pointed out CMHA received funding from the federal government in the form of a Hope VI grant that displaced hundreds of residents with the promise they could return when redevelopment was completed. But the development stalled and, the NAACP said, "very few residents had the opportunity to return."

"We are monitoring the developments with serious interest and until a definitive plan is presented, we will reserve comment and judgment," the release said. "However, we demand full transparency and engagement of the community as the conversation develops."

Good for the NAACP putting its foot down here.  The city has jerked several black neighborhoods around on development projects, most recently with the streetcar routes not going anywhere near black neighborhoods (but of course promised for "future expansion" which Mayor Cranley then killed) and in Over-The-Rhine, which has seen serious development but almost no accommodations made for existing resident who were priced out of the housing market.

West End getting a new stadium would be great, but the devil's always in the details and there really isn't too much of a reason why people should trust 3CDC on this. I hope Berding does follow through should the stadium be built here, but frankly my expectations are very low.  3CDC has made a lot of promises that they haven't followed through on.

Also, there's the question of FC Cincinnati getting a new facility at all at this point.  MLS was happy to take Nashville but moved up plans for Miami's team because they were ready to go.  At this point who knows who the other expansion team is going to be, because of the three contenders, (Sacramento, Detroit and Cincy) none of them seem to actually have a plan for a facility right now.

It's all up in the air.  We'll see where this goes.