Soccer It To Me, Cincy, Con't

The saga of FC Cincinnati's new stadium needed to secure its place as an MLS expansion team got very interesting this week as Ohio's existing MLS team, the Columbus Crew, is looking for the exits to send the team to Austin but is running headlong into the Modell Law.

Columbus Crew SC majority owner Anthony Precourt's focus is now zeroed in on one site for a Major League Soccerstadium in Austin, Texas. 

Precourt, CEO of Precourt Sports Venture, wants to move the team to Austin and announced Thursday afternoon he would focus his efforts on Austin-owned McKalla Place. 

The site is nowhere near downtown Austin, where Precourt said he wanted a stadium. He has asked for a Downtown stadium in Columbus, too, having said Mapfre Stadium north of Columbus is too far away. 

While the site selection is good news for Austin soccer fans, it is yet another blow to #SaveTheCrew efforts to keep the team in Columbus, where Precourt's company and Major League Soccer are being sued to keep the team from moving. 

On Wednesday, Precourt and MLS officials issued a statement saying they were disappointed in the city of Columbus and the state for filing a suit on Monday to keep the Crew SC from moving to Austin. The city and state are citing the "Art Modell Law," which was named for the then-Browns owner who relocated the NFL team to Baltimore in 1996. 

The law says that owners whose teams use tax-supported facilities and accept financial assistance from the state are prohibited from moving to another city unless they give at least six months' notice and give individuals who live in the area an opportunity to purchase the team. 

On Thursday, Precourt said he is still interested in having his team "integrate into the heart and soul of the Austin community." 

"We’ve heard the concerns about a possible site for a stadium," Precourt said. "Soccer is inclusive and celebratory, so we want to shift the focus onto the long-term benefits of a location that works for everybody."

This is the real reason MLS is putting its expansion plans on hold for now, they want to know where the Crew will end up.  If the Crew leave Columbus and Cincy is passed over, MLS is going to lose a lot of loyal fans in a hurry in arguably one of the best areas in the country for soccer.

Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati's new stadium may not actually be in Ohio at all.

Northern Kentucky business and government leaders will schmooze with FC Cincinnati representatives Friday afternoon an in effort to woo the soccer team's new stadium.

Cleared land for the yet-to-start Ovation development next to the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers in Newport is a possible location to build a stadium. The property has a clear view of Downtown Cincinnati. 

FC Cincinnati's president and general manager Jeff Berding and Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce president Brent Cooper will spend the afternoon touring nonprofits in Covington and Newport, according to a chamber release. 

Berding and Cooper will be joined by Eric Rose of Newport Aquarium, Newport Mayor Jerry Peluso, Hofbrauhaus Newport co-owner and Fort Thomas Mayor Eric Haas, MeetNKY convention and visitors bureau's Eric Summe, and Alex Perkins and Gaby Batshoun of Global Business Solutions.

The NKY Chamber is tripping over itself to get FC Cincinnati to agree to a deal that'll put the stadium in Newport by the levee.  The current plan to put the stadium in the West End is getting a lot of pushback from residents, and rightfully so.

We'll see where all this goes, but it may be a long time before this one gets sorted out.  If you had hopes for FC Cincinnati to join MLS before 2021 or 2022 at the earliest, I wouldn't go printing the t-shirts just yet.