To give the facility a unique offering and generate activity on non-match days, FC Cincinnati could include a beer hall in its upcoming stadium.
FC Cincinnati is in the process of planning a new stadium on the city’s West End, which is slated for a 2021 opening. Certain questions relating to the project have to be resolved–such as concerns about displacement of area residents, and noise mitigation to avoid disturbing the nearby Music Hall–but the club is in the process of planning the facility’s amenities.
One of those could include a beer hall, as was revealed at an event on Tuesday by FC Cincinnati president Jeff Berding. It is not certain at this point that the beer hall will be part of the final design, but the motivation behind the idea would be to create an amenity that serves as a destination on game days while making the stadium site a draw on dates where there are no events inside the facility. More from the Cincinnati Enquirer:
“It’s an idea we’re kicking around,” Berding told The Enquirer after the breakfast. “We are discussing a brewing partner, or something representative of our beer heritage to be a part of the plan.”
The idea, Berding said, would be perhaps put it on the plaza so that it opens into the stadium on game days, and toward the community on non game-days.
It would be open during away games for fans to watch the game on television, Berding said during the discussion.
It’s so early in talks, there are no renderings.
With the current MLS schedule including just 17 regular-season home matches, clubs have to look for ways to make their venues a draw outside the soccer season. Concerts and other events are one way to do this, but concepts similar to FC Cincinnati’s potential beer hall have also been instituted elsewhere. In the most recent example, Minnesota United FC’s brand-new Allianz Field features a Brew Hall that serves fans on match days but also operates on nongame days, including a 7 a.m. opening on Saturdays and Sundays for those wanting some Premier League action and a brew from one of the 96 taps.
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