UC Hosting FC Cincinnati Soccer Club At Nippert Stadium Will Have Minimal Adverse Effects, Only Improvements

When it was first announced that Nippert Stadium would be the home for the FC Cincinnati expansion soccer franchise, the reactions from UC Bearcats fans ranged from a mere shrug to going bat-crap crazy that it would ruin the ambiance of the venue. You know, normal people stuff like going ballistic on Twitter and Facebook and even going to so far as to rant at front office administrators via email.

This without even hearing the details from either UC or the club on the exact deal in place. Well, athletic director Mike Bohn nipped those concerns in the bud.

"On soccer lines during football games.Bohn gave an emphatic “no”. He advised that several professional teams such Metlife Stadium (New York Giants, New York Jets) and CenturyLink Field (Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders) regularly accommodate multiple teams sharing the same playing surface with different colors and designs.On adding grass to Nippert Stadium.“I don’t think we’ll go that far. I don’t think we’re even ready to talk about that.” See above. Technology’s come far enough such that grounds crews can change the designs on field turf in a similar manner to grass surfaces. But field turf is always preferred to grass because it’s maintenance-free, so why would UC go with the inferior product?On removing seats.Bohn called that “speculation” and confirmed that even though it will be tight in the corners and along the edges, there’s enough width to accommodate a regular professional soccer game. So that’s about it.On financial benefits of bringing a professional soccer team to Nippert.Bohn praised the partnership with Carl Lindner and access to his billions (or is it merely hundreds of millions?) in net worth as a major boon for the athletic department. He specifically mentioned the new scoreboard and upgraded locker rooms as “enhancements” to the soccer stadium with this partnership. Now you know where that money came from.On other benefits.Bohn mentioned recruiting for soccer and football, both of which will benefit from the upgrades mentioned above. The soccer team specifically will probably reap the same benefits that the football program has for the last several years, an incredible stadium to show off to prospective players."

Today, the Cincinnati Business Courier revealed that UC’s AD wasn’t just blowing smoke. The contract with FC Cincinnati, a club the more-money-than-God Lindners own, calls for a $100,000 renovation of the visitor’s locker room.

"FC Cincinnati is paying “100 percent” of the cost to make the locker room renovations, he said. He wouldn’t say the cost except to put it in the “low six figures,” above $100,000 but not a lot higher."

Plus, that whole fear about interfering with the permanent football lines on the field or even replacing it with grass? Hogwash. FC Cincinnati is funding the replacement of the turf, even though the current field isn’t more than a few years old, and will use temporary paint to mark the lines during soccer matches. The turf that’s at Nippert Stadium now will presumably be moved to Camp Higher Ground, UC’s Fall practice locale.

"The team will also replace the turf at Nippert, said Ryan Koslen, UC’s associate athletic director for communications. That will likely include another artificial turf surface with soccer lines installed with washable paint, allowing UC to remove them and put football lines on the field for UC and high school football games."

A big concern for some fans, my self excluded, that has yet to be addressed is the removal of the first few rows of seats to provide more space for the soccer field. As you know, the walls surrounding the playing surface come right to the edge of the football field. There’s really not much more room for anything else besides that. But it sounds like that detail has yet to be hashed out and we could very well find out more in a few weeks.

"Details of the other changes beyond the visiting locker room should be finalized in the next few weeks, Berding said."