CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati has agreed to enter into an agreement, pending final local government approval, with the City of Milford, Clermont County, Clermont County Port Authority and Clermont County Ohio Convention and Visitors Bureau to develop a world-class team training complex in Milford, Ohio.
Cincinnati-based MSA Sport is the principal designer on the project, while the construction team will be led by the Cincinnati office of Turner Construction. All construction will be privately financed by FC Cincinnati.
Located on 707 US Highway 50, off Rt. 275 in Milford and on the site of the current Expressway Park softball complex and adjoining property, the FC Cincinnati training complex is expected to fully operational by July 2019 and all site work is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. The FCC first team will relocate to the complex in January 2019 and will utilize temporary team facilities until the training complex is completed later in the summer.
The estimated $30 million project will occupy approximately 23.6 acres and will serve as the base for FC Cincinnati’s soccer operations, including the MLS first team and future FCC Academy’s training and performance activities.
The facility is also expected to host between six and 20 soccer-related events a year, including first-team scrimmages, FCC Academy games and local soccer tournaments.
The FC Cincinnati training complex will include three full-size, lighted soccer fields (two grass, one artificial turf), as well as a goalkeeper-specific training area. The MLS team will be housed in a 30,000 sq. ft., multilevel building abutting the fields, while the FCC Academy teams will have their own separate 6,500 sq. ft. center along the practice fields. Additionally, there will be a 3,000 sq. ft. maintenance facility on the property.
The first-team building will include team and coaches/staff locker rooms, athletic training and sports performance rooms, player lounge and dining facility, equipment and laundry rooms, team meeting rooms, reception area and media work space, as well as offices for the coaching staff, technical director and other team support staff.
The Academy building will include locker rooms, athletic training rooms and equipment areas, as well as coaches areas and meeting rooms.
The FCC training complex is expected to directly generate at least $1.6 million for the local economy and will contribute to the almost $6.8 million in increased economic activity to the general area.
“We’re excited to announce our state-of-the-art training complex in Milford,” FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding said. “We’ve been searching for the right location in the Greater Cincinnati area – including Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont Counties, as well as counties in Northern Kentucky – for two-and-a-half years and this site presents the best opportunity for the growth for our club.
“The accessibility of this location – being near major transportation routes and at the center of our youth development radius – gives us the perfect home base as we enter Major League Soccer in 2019 and also launch our FCC Youth Academy,” Berding continued.
“The design of the facility is inspired by the mission and values of FC Cincinnati and reflects a progressive, environmentally sustainable, modern aesthetic reflective of the rise of the sport of soccer in America,” Bill Baker, MSA Sport Principal and Owner, said.
“In the planning process, we benchmarked training grounds across the world, including the best in Europe, South America and Asia. The goal of the design is to develop one of the premier and most progressive team facilities in Major League Soccer,” Baker said.
“With extensive experience building practice grounds for some of the world’s top teams, we see the FC Cincinnati training complex as one of the truly premiere, world-class venues in any sports market,” David Spaulding, Vice President and General Manager of Turner Construction, added.
With its significant private investment in the new training complex, FC Cincinnati has re-affirmed its commitment and pledge to develop first-class facilities that will support and sustain its growth into Major League Soccer and provide a tangible investment into the Greater Cincinnati community.
“We are building a transformational facility, not only our club, but also soccer in the region,” Berding said. “This project will be one of the key aligners of all levels of our soccer operations, from the MLS team down to our youth teams and community programming. This facility is a legacy project as we continue to grow soccer in the Greater Cincinnati area and bring the world’s game to the region.”
Representatives from FC Cincinnati and the training complex project will attend Milford’s special City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, and also make a presentation to the Clermont County Commissioners at a 10 a.m. session on Wednesday, June 27.
- NOTE: FC Cincinnati Practice Facility (Clermont County, OH) Economic Impact Analysis. The Sports Facility Advisory. May 2018. Commissioned by the Clermont County Ohio Convention and Visitors Bureau.
