FC Cincinnati ownership on Oct. 5 approved preliminary designs for the team’s $200 million West End stadium drawn up by Meis Architects and local design firm Elevar. The renderings show a facility that is a little under 120 feet tall (about the height of a 10-or-11-story building) on its west side with capacity for between 25,500 and 26,500 fans. The designs will be presented to the Executive Committee of the West End Community Council at its meeting this evening (Oct. 9) and at the full community council Oct. 15.
“We’re thrilled with the concept design for our West End Stadium and all of the work done by Meis and Elevar,” FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding said in a statement about the designs. “We’ve received tremendous support from the West End and the Design Committee and we believe we’re bringing a transformational stadium to Cincinnati. We know that the design process will continue and our final product will likely continue to evolve, but we are proud to share our updated plans.”
The concept designs are just the first phase of a four-phase process. The team will present them to the City of Cincinnati on Nov. 19, then make technical adjustments and refinements before a second phase — the stadium’s schematic design — is presented to the city Dec. 3. Design adjustments will continue into 2019, when the team expects to break ground on the stadium. FCC says the facility will be completed in 2021.
In these early designs, the stadium features a canopy roof that would cover all seats and provide external noise suppression. The renderings also show a translucent foil material on parts of the stadium’s exterior which can display various colors and patterns. In the initial designs, premium seating and designated seating for club supporters — called The Bailey — will both double from current levels in University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium.
This article appears in Oct 3-10, 2018.
