MLS expansion team FC Cincinnati reveal plans for training facility

2019 MLS expansion team FC Cincinnati publicly unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a $30 million training facility in Milford, Ohio.

The site, located less than 20 miles from FC Cincinnati’s future stadium site in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati, will occupy about 23.6 acres, and is proposed to include both full-size grass and artificial turf fields, a goalkeeper training area, as well as indoor performance and work space facilities for the first team and a separate building for the FC Cincinnati academy teams.

Cincinnati-based MSA Sport is the principal designer of the project, and construction will be carried out by Turner Construction, with FC Cincinnati privately financing the construction.

While an agreement has been reached between the team and city and county, the proposal is still pending final approval by local government.

The team expects the first team to move to the training site in January, ahead of the team’s first season in MLS, with the complex fully running by July and all work on the site to be done by the end of 2019.

“We’re excited to announce our state-of-the-art training complex in Milford,” FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding said. “We’ve been searching for the right location in the Greater Cincinnati area – including Hamilton, Butler, Warren and Clermont Counties, as well as counties in Northern Kentucky – for two-and-a-half years and this site presents the best opportunity for the growth for our club.

“The accessibility of this location – being near major transportation routes and at the center of our youth development radius – gives us the perfect home base as we enter Major League Soccer in 2019 and also launch our FCC Youth Academy,” Berding continued.

One of the fields at the training facility building | Courtesy of FC Cincinnati

“We are building a transformational facility, not only our club, but also soccer in the region,” Berding said. “This project will be one of the key aligners of all levels of our soccer operations, from the MLS team down to our youth teams and community programming. This facility is a legacy project as we continue to grow soccer in the Greater Cincinnati area and bring the world’s game to the region.”