When Berding lobbied for approval to build the new stadium, he promised no residents would be displacedFC CINCINNATI
A group of Cincinnati residents who "have to move out of buildings owned by FC Cincinnati as the team builds a West End stadium" are demanding the team "build new housing for them and pay 'proper compensation,'" according to Sharon Coolidge of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. The group "offered no specific amount of money or exactly where the team should build affordable housing." The deadline to "vacate the properties is May 31." FC Cincinnati lawyers have publicly said that "nobody will be kicked out on that date, though people need to find new housing." Part of the issue is that when FC Cincinnati President & GM Jeff Berding "lobbied Cincinnati City Council for taxpayer help and approval to build the stadium in the West End, he promised no residents would be displaced." Berding has said that the team is "helping the residents find new housing." However, yesterday he said that meeting the new demands is "not possible." Berding: "I was told via the building manager that tenants were waiting for a larger payout, an amount that was $40,000." Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition Exec Dir Josh Spring, who sent the letter on behalf of the residents, said that $40,000 is "not correct and that the group has not named a specific amount of compensation" (CINCINNATI.com, 5/20).
