Cincinnati City Council voted 5-4 Wednesday on a resolution promising $8 million for a new venue near Riverbend Music Center. The source of the funding is not yet clear, and Council will need to vote again before the money is actually allocated.
The vote followed some public comments critical of the plan, and a somewhat contentious debate among Council members.
"This is a hard pill to swallow when we have a shortage of affordable housing in this community," said Mona Jenkins, president of the Walnut Hills Area Council. "This is a hard pill to swallow when there is no community input on this on the backside, and we are blindsided one day ahead of time saying that this vote is up for today."
Because the measure is in the form of a resolution instead of a motion or ordinance, it didn't go through a committee for discussion and initial vote. Council member Anna Albi announced her resolution on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before Wednesday's City Council meeting.
"This project checks so many boxes we look for when considering a major investment," Albi said Wednesday. "Is this project led by a trusted partner with a track record of success? Yes. Will that partner leverage our city dollars to maximize their fundraising from other public and private sources? Yes. Will the city earn our money back over time? Yes. Will this investment help grow Cincinnati? Yes."
The four Council members opposing the resolution first tried to delay a vote on the measure; some say it's a good project, but they don't believe the timeline is urgent enough to warrant an immediate vote. President Pro-Tem Scotty Johnson decried the project as "reckless and irresponsible."
"We've been elected to be responsible with people's money," Johnson said. "This is not responsible."
Voting in favor: Anna Albi, Seth Walsh, Meeka Owens, Evan Nolan, Ryan James
Voting against: Jeff Cramerding, Mark Jeffreys, Scotty Johnson, Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney
What is the Farmer Music Center?
The future amphitheater will be constructed on the site of the former Coney Island amusement park — notably, on the part of the site that is within city of Cincinnati limits.
It's a project from the non-profit Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and MEMI. It will include a 300,000 square foot concourse and 25 bars and concession stands across three levels. It will accommodate 20,000 people, with 8,000 reserved seats and an open-air synthetic lawn that can hold another 12,000 people.
Officials say the goal is create a "festival ready" site that will include the existing Riverbend Music Center.
The total project cost is $160 million, with other funding sources including private foundations, Western & Southern Financial Group, and the state of Ohio. CSO and MEMI are pursuing additional state funding, as well.
It's expected to open in Spring 2027.
How much money does Farmer Music Center need?
Mayor Aftab Pureval expressed skepticism ahead of the vote. He asked Council member Albi a series of questions about unknown details, including this exchange:
Albi: "Our ability to act now and help them achieve their fundraising goals will ensure it stays on track to open and that we can begin booking acts and collecting that ticket tax revenue as we'd like."
Pureval: "And we're confident about that without knowing what the actual [financial] gap is?"
Albi: "Mayor, I'm happy to rattle off the numbers, but I don't think it's my place to, in this space, to give you an exact number."
Pureval: "I respectfully disagree. I do think it is your place. This is Council's job to vet these before making investments. What's the commitment on the inclusion goal for the project?”
Albi: "I do not have that one off the top my head. My apologies, Mayor. If you had provided me these questions ahead of time, I would have had my fact sheet ready to go to rattle all these off more fluently for you."
Albi later said that $76.6 million of the $160 million had been raised. With the addition of $8 million from the city, that leaves a $75.4 million funding gap.
Albi also said the interim director of the city's new Office of Strategic Growth, Brandon Rudd, had met with the CSO about the project.
"[He has] gone through their financials and has reported that this number is very real, and all the information that they've provided already checks out, and feels confident that this funding will help them unlock additional funds at the state and through private sources," Albi said.
City Manager Sheryl Long interjected: "Director Rudd has not provided a financial analysis for this project. So I just want to make sure that's clear — while there may have been meetings that have happened, there is no financial analysis done."
The key to a full financial analysis is the "but-for" component; that will indicate whether the project will move forward even without the city's investment.
The resolution includes a clause that the funding is contingent upon the city administration's review process, including underwriting to ensure feasibility and confidence the project can be completed.
Where would the $8 million come from?
The resolution expresses a "commitment to allocate $8,000,000 in capital resources by the end of Fiscal Year 2027."
The capital budget is used for physical assets — mostly city-owned infrastructure like streets, parks, health centers, etc. The capital budget is separate from the operating budget, where the city is facing a projected $29.5 million deficit and possible 5% cuts.
It's not yet clear which capital source the $8 million would come from. Opposing council members expressed concern about the lack of information and the timing of the vote before the full picture of the fiscal year 2027 budget is clear.
"There are projects that are not going to happen," Jeff Cramerding said. "It can be a rec center in Price Hill, it can be housing in Avondale — but $8 million in projects will not happen."
Council is partway through the annual budget process; three public meetings were held in March, and the Budget, Finance and Governance Committee has just started hearing budget presentations from each city department.
"The idea of the budget process is for us to have robust discussions about all of the suggestions, all of our priorities, what we're going to fund and what doesn't get funded," Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney said. "To give one project the privilege of jumping to the front of the line and getting a commitment before we've even had a discussion about everything else that's out there and all the other needs really just does not make any sense."
City Council will pass a budget priorities motion in mid-April, which City Manager Long will use to prepare the first draft of the budget by the end of May. Then Council will have until the end of June to make any changes and pass a final budget, which could include the $8 million.
Council member Meeka Owens suggested the money could come from the carryover of fiscal year 2026; there's usually money leftover after each budget, and the next carryover amount would be available near the end of 2026.
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