Cincinnati, are you ready for some futbooooooooooool?
FC Cincinnati has finally revealed that the team will play Inter Miami CF in the match that will serve as both the 2021 season’s home opener and West End Stadium’s very first Major League Soccer game.
The match begins at 4 p.m. May 16 and will be nationally televised on FOX and FOX Deportes.
Tickets are available only in season membership packages.
Construction began on West End Stadium in 2018 and will be completed in time for the home opener. The stadium will hold about 26,000 fans and will feature a 360-degree roof canopy. Take a sneak peek from CityBeat’s recent tour.
FC Cincinnati also has cemented its first two regular-season matches of the 2021 season, both on the road. The team will play Nashville SC on April 17, followed by a match against New York City FC on April 24.
The team currently is on its preseason schedule, which was announced earlier this month.
FC Cincinnati and other regional sports teams are preparing to have actual fans in seats, with Gov. Mike DeWine loosening COVID-19 protocols with the recent drop in statewide cases and hospitalizations.
During a Feb. 25 briefing, the governor announced that outdoor events within the state — including those held in sports venues — would be capped at 30% capacity. Previously, Ohio had limited in-person attendance at sports events to 15% or 1,500 fans, whichever was fewer. Some teams had requested and had been granted variances that allowed for a higher attendance.
For FC Cincinnati’s West End Stadium, 30% of the stadium’s 26,000 capacity would be 7,800 fans.
According to Ohio's new regulations, fans must be grouped into pods of six, with DeWine recommending that those pods be made up of people from within a single household. Pods will be separated by at least six feet. General, non-seated admission will be permitted only if masks are worn and if six-foot distancing can be maintained.
For the looser restrictions to continue, all venues — both indoor and outdoor — must follow established precautions such as mandatory mask wearing for employees and customers as well as social distancing.
DeWine also stressed that COVID-19 numbers must continue to fall for the reduced protocols to stay in place.
“The vaccines have given us great hope, but until we have enough Ohioans vaccinated, we must continue masking and social distancing,” DeWine said. “Easing up on some prevention measures is intended to serve as a starting point. If the trajectory of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continues downward, we hope to be able to relax more of these measures. If it gets worse, we may have to tighten up.”