FC Cincinnati co-CEO Jeff Berding says market analysis shows Cincinnati is missing out on events because it doesn't have a new entertainment center that's smaller than Taft Theater, the music venues on both sides of the river, Riverbend and the stadiums.
So, he's planning to build a 1,500- to 2,000-seat venue as part of the $300 million development north of TQL Stadium in the West End. This would be in addition to a hotel, apartments, office space and retail, as reported by WVXU's Nick Swartsell.
"At 1,500 to 2,000 seats, what we have in the current market is Bogart's, which I enjoyed when I was in college a very long time ago," says Berding.
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He says this would be a new building for not only music, but comedy, e-sports and corporate training as well.
According to Berding, "There's a market opportunity here and this event center will give us an opportunity to fill that gap while bringing people on a regular basis into our mixed-use development to support some of the retail and other attractions, apartments, office and the hotel that we're going to be building."
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He hopes to break ground by the end of the year.
Any final approval would have to come from Cincinnati City Council.
