On Wednesday night, FC Cincinnati invited premium club deposit holders to a virtual town hall to discuss a variety of aspects of the second phase of the club’s sales campaign for West End Stadium.
During a 90-minute session, club officials – and a surprise appearance from head coach Jaap Stam – informed deposit holders about future dates to watch, more descriptive explanations about each premium seating area and more.
Here are some of the main points that were discussed during the town hall:
“The stadium is the best representation of our club’s ambitions.”
In his opening statement, club president Jeff Berding praised supporters for investing in the team’s future by placing deposits, and highlighted details about the “premier soccer-specific stadium in the United States.”
“We don’t think there’s anything like it in what you’re going to experience at West End Stadium, certainly not in soccer, and we don’t think in market” Berding said. “We tried to have the stadium be an expression of our values from day one: winning, family friendly and community minded.”
He cited the 4,500 club seats and 53 suites as ambitious efforts to deliver premium seating at an FC Cincinnati match – but also a key revenue driver to invest in great players to help deliver championships.
The seat selection process for premium options will begin shortly
Jeff Smith, FCC’s vice president of sales and services, thanked the town hall attendees for being part of the first wave of season ticketholders at FC Cincinnati’s future stadium.
The club launched Phase Two of ticketing on May 12 with the hope of securing 1,800 accounts by June 12. Smith said that number is now over 2,500.
Deposit holders started receiving emails on Friday with more information on the seat selection process.
“Each of you, based upon your priority, will have a designated day and time for which you can personally select your club seats at West End Stadium,” Smith said. “We’re offering three ways to do that.”
One option is for fans to visit the Experience Center inside the club’s Downtown office – a space designed to “bring West End Stadium to life” through renderings, models and the actual seating products that will be used in the stadium.
The other options are a video-conference call to go over the seating with a ticketing representative, or by scheduling a phone call to finalize seating.
Phase Three, which includes approximately 20,000 seats outside of suites and premium options, will begin their deposit process later this summer – late August or early September.
Season ticket options, including different price points, are being finalized, but Smith said prices will range from $340 in The Bailey to $900 for a regular reserved seat outside of the premium club options.
How COVID-19 impacts West End Stadium
While we all wait for news about fans returning to MLS matches, FC Cincinnati have been researching different ways the future stadium can have “touchless” amenities to create a more sanitary environment.
Dan Lolli, the VP of facilities and stadium general manager said the club is “evolving” construction and stadium infrastructure to have touchless appliances in restrooms and also rethink other options – like keeping doors open in the clubs to prevent supporters needing to touch surfaces.
More plans will be implemented as we get closer to the Orange and Blue playinginside the West End Stadium.
“We’re looking to evolve as it comes our way,” Lolli said.
Parking information will come in the future
Both Smith and Berding said they were still trying to finalize how many parking spaces would be available on matchdays. Once that’s known, the club can adjust pricing information to supporters.
“We still have work to do on the parking process protocol, so hang in there with us,” Smith said. “Hopefully by the time we hit seat selections in July, August and September, we’ll have the vast majority of this ironed out for you and we’ll have options available for you, pricing process and protocol”
The new coach on the new stadium
“I’ve been to the new stadium and I’ve seen how the people over there have been working on it and how it’s been developed, and I’m very impressed with that,” Stam said. “If you look at the stands, look at how close everything is to the pitch, I think for the fans, it’s awesome to see that.”
