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FC Cincinnati Training Facility To Be Built In Clermont County

fc cincinnati
John Minchillo
/
AP
FC Cincinnati midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin reacts after winning the penalty shoot-out during a U.S. Open Cup soccer match in Cincinnati against the Chicago Fire.

FC Cincinnati will build a training facility in Milford, the club announced Tuesday. Pending local government approval, the team will construct a facility where the Expressway Park softball complex currently stands. 

The facility, with three full-size, lighted soccer fields, is also expected to host between six and 20 soccer-related events a year, including first-team scrimmages and local soccer tournaments.

Full operations are planned by July 2019, with all work on the complex expected by the end of the year.

“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," says FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding.

He notes how the location is near major transportation routes and is at the center of the club's youth development radius. He says that gives them "the perfect home base as we enter Major League Soccer in 2019 and also launch our FCC Youth Academy.”

A report from the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau says the complex is expected to directly generate at least $1.6 million for the local economy.

The release says the $30 million project will be privately financed by FC Cincinnati.

Milford's city council scheduled a special session Tuesday evening to discuss the project. The club is scheduled to go before Clermont County commissioners Wednesday morning.

Bill Rinehart started his radio career as a disc jockey in 1990. In 1994, he made the jump into journalism and has been reporting and delivering news on the radio ever since.