FC Cincinnati today announced the team that will design and construct its roughly $200 million soccer stadium in the West End.
The stadium’s lead architect will be MEIS, a New York and Los Angeles-based firm that also designed Paul Brown Stadium. The firm has also designed a number of other Major League Soccer stadiums, including Toyota Park in Chicago and StubHub Center in Los Angeles among others. MEIS will partner with local firm Elevar Group on some architectural elements of the project.
“It is the rare opportunity for a stadium architect to return to a city that was so important to the development of his career,” MEIS principal Dan Meis said in a statement. “Paul Brown Stadium will always be one of my most important projects of my career and the FC Cincinnati stadium is an incredible opportunity to return to a city that means so much to me. With our FC Cincinnati project, we expect to design a truly urban stadium that draws on the unique fabric of the West End.”
International firm Turner Construction will be the lead builder for the stadium. The company has helped build more than 450 sports facilities, including almost half of all Major League Soccer stadiums across the country. Turner is also working on pre-construction for the 2022 FIFA World Cup facility in Qatar. The firm will partner with local group Jostin Construction, a minority-owned business that has worked with Turner on other local projects including Great American Tower and the residential tower and new Kroger at Walnut Street and Central Parkway. Jostin’s CEO and owner is Albert Smitherman, who is related to Cincinnati Vice Mayor Christopher Smitherman.
CEO Smitherman says the company will make efforts to engage minority-owned subcontractors on the project.
“As Cincinnati’s leading downtown community builder, we are thrilled and grateful to be a part of this transformative project,” Turner Vice President and General Manager David Spaulding said today. “Our efforts will be focused on not only constructing a state-of-the-art stadium for this incredible team and their fans, but also creating opportunities and an environment that is driven toward community engagement and involvement.”
Machete Group will manage the project, including master and site planning, budgeting and scheduling for the project, among other tasks. U.S. Bank will provide financing for the stadium.
FC Cincinnati President Jeff Berding said the team will start from scratch on its design to make sure it fits specifically with the West End location.
“We are prepared to build the top soccer stadium in the country right here in the Queen City.” Berding said. “We have two of the world’s top sports design and construction firms ready to design an iconic facility for our club and our community, and world-class management and financing partners on board to help us through the process. With MEIS, Turner, Machete and U.S. Bank working together, we’re very excited for what is ahead for the soccer community in our region.”
