USL club FC Cincinnati's U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against the Red Bulls on Aug. 15 "sold out Tuesday after fans snatched up about 16,000 tickets over a seven-hour-long period," according to Patrick Brennan of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. It is the "latest attendance-related feat for a fan base currently pacing" the entire USL. FC Cincinnati also drew "more than 30,000 for its last two home U.S. Open Cup matches." Tuesday's public sale was "preceded by a days-long pre-sale period for season-ticket holders." FC Cincinnati President & GM Jeff Berding said that essentially all season-ticket holders "participated in the pre-sale." Tickets that went on sale to the general public were "limited." Berding also said that more than 10,000 individuals "were flooding" the Glitnir Ticketing system at one time. This caused the website to crash "several times." With "assigned seating being used" for Nippert Stadium's upper bowl for the Red Bulls match, the attendance figure "appears likely to climb higher than the 32,287 that attended FC Cincinnati's Round of 16 win" over the Fire (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/10). In Cincinnati, Paul Daugherty wrote support for FC Cincinnati is "transcending the initial Phenomenon Stage." Daugherty: "All those people buying tickets are trying to tell us (and the MLS) something. The only folks who can derail this express are the greed-meisters running MLS." Daugherty wrote MLS’ demand that FC Cincinnati have a soccer-only stadium deal in place "should be shelved" or "at least pushed back a few years." He added, "It should not be a reason to deny admission [to MLS]" (CINCINNATI.com, 8/9)
