Cincinnati Public Schools, students at Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School, high school sports fans and West End residents will say a final goodbye to the neighborhood’s Willard A. Stargel Stadium Oct. 26.
The stadium is slated for demolition next month to make way for FC Cincinnati’s coming Major League Soccer facility — but the timing of the new Stargel will be trickier than originally expected.
Earlier this month, FC Cincinnati unveiled the construction timeline for its stadium in the West End, which calls for the demolition of existing structures on the site to begin next month.
The $200 million facility will sit on the site of the Stargel Stadium, which serves Taft as well as Aiken, Gamble, Hughes, Riverview East and Shroder high schools.
Originally, the agreement between CPS and FC Cincinnati struck in April called for the team to construct a new stadium for CPS across Ezzard Charles Drive at a cost of $10 million. Originally, the agreement was that demolition of the current Stargel wouldn’t start until the new CPS stadium was finished
However, FCC’s timeline — and the district’s belief that it can better build its own stadium — have caused changes to the timeline, the school district says. Stargel is now slated to come down starting Nov. 19 — well before construction of the new Stargel.
On Monday, the Cincinnati Public School Board voted on a revised land swap agreement with FCC. Under that agreement, the team will give $10 million to the district so it can build the stadium itself. The district will also get $150,000 for site remediation for the vacant plots of land it will build the new Stargel upon.
Why the changes?
“CPS has a great record of building its own stadiums and sports facilities over the years, and our board and administration believes our facilities department led by Robin Brandon will be able to expertly lead the design and construction of this project,” CPS spokesperson Lauren Worley said via email. “Practically speaking, this arrangement will allow for CPS to design a facility that meets the future needs of our students and school communities, and not have to work with a third party that was working at the direction of FC Cincinnati. By having more direct supervision and management of this project, our students and families thereby have more direct connection to the design and construction of this CPS stadium.”
Following approval of the land swap, the school is leasing the current Stargel from FC Cincinnati at no cost until Taft’s football season ends.
The CPS facility is named for Willard Stargel, the late assistant football coach for Taft. Stargel, a gifted athlete himself, excelled in high school sports and went on to become a star tight end for the University of Cincinnati before his coaching career. The stadium, finished in 2004 at a cost of roughly $5.5 million, has 3,000 seats. It was updated in 2015.
CPS will hold a ceremony featuring Stargel’s family to celebrate his legacy before the stadium’s final game.
What about initial hopes that the new Stargel would be finished before the old one came down?
“In order to meet the MLS timeline for the FC Cincinnati stadium completion, demolition on the existing Stargel Stadium needs to begin this fall,” Worley says. “Originally we had hoped the new Stargel would be completed prior to the demolition and construction of the FC Cincinnati stadium, but the time frame to complete both projects has slimmed.”
Worley says the district hopes to have the new Stargel done in time for school sports next year.
“It’s the district’s strong intention and plan to have the new Stargel Stadium operational in time for football season in Fall 2019,” Worley says. “Our athletics department is in constant communication with all our teams at our respective schools regarding practices, tryouts, scrimmages, games, playoffs and any other needs for the facility. They will be working to ensure that the needs for all of our extra-curricular teams are met during the construction phase, and if necessary, will make arrangements for use of other fields if the field isn’t ready in time for fall season.”
This article appears in Oct 24-31, 2018.