FC Cincinnati, Mercy Health Extend Partnership with Mercy Health Training Center

FC Cincinnati has announced that Mercy Health has expanded its relationship with the club and will now be the naming partner for the club’s Milford, Ohio, training complex – the Mercy Health Training Center – which formally broke ground today in a ceremony at the work site.

Mercy Health, the largest health system in Ohio, is already signed on as the club’s jersey partner beginning in 2019 as the club moves to Major League Soccer next year.

As part of the expanded relationship, Mercy Health will have the ability to utilize the Mercy Health Training Center for community programming throughout the year.

“We’re thrilled to break ground on our new training center and to announce the exciting news of our Mercy Health naming partnership,” FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding said. “This is the perfect extension for both FC Cincinnati and Mercy Health as it deepens our connections into the first team and player development and health functions of FC Cincinnati, while providing so many new opportunities to expand our community-focused efforts, especially in the Milford area.”

“We’re very proud to expand our partnership with FC Cincinnati as the title sponsor of the Mercy Health Training Center,” said John Starcher, President and CEO, Bon Secours Mercy Health. ““We’re very proud to expand our partnership with FC Cincinnati as the title sponsor of the Mercy Health Training Center,” said John Starcher, President and CEO, Bon Secours Mercy Health. “Mercy Health is a strong partner with both professional and everyday athletes across the tri-state. Through this sponsorship with FC Cincinnati, Mercy Health has an opportunity to be more closely connected to the team, as well as to the Milford community where we already have strong ties as care providers for Milford’s residents and school athletic programs. We’re looking forward to extending FC Cincinnati’s and Mercy Health’s mutual commitment to give back to the community through our partnership.”

The estimated $30 million Mercy Health Training Center project will occupy approximately 24 acres and will serve as the base for FC Cincinnati’s soccer operations, including the MLS first team and future FCC Academy training and performance activities. Additional staff will also be based in the Mercy Health Training Center to support the team’s daily operations at the complex.

Located on Lila Ave., off Rt. 275 in Milford, the Mercy Health Training Center is expected to be fully operational in August 2019. The FCC first team will relocate to the complex in January 2019 and will utilize temporary team facilities at the site until the training complex is completed later in the summer.

Cincinnati-based MSA Sport is the principal designer on the project, while the construction team is being led by the Cincinnati office of Turner Construction. All construction is being privately financed by FC Cincinnati.

The facility is also expected to host between six and 20 soccer-related events a year, including first-team scrimmages, future FCC Academy games and local soccer tournaments, as well as other initiatives aimed at growing and raising the level of soccer in the Greater Cincinnati area.

When it is completed, the Mercy Health Training Center will include three full-size, lighted soccer fields (two grass, one artificial turf), as well as a goalkeeper-specific training area. FC Cincinnati’s MLS team will be housed in a 30,000 sq. ft., multilevel building adjacent to the fields, while the FCC Academy teams will have their own facilities at the Mercy Health Training Center. Additionally, there will be a 3,000 sq. ft. maintenance facility on the property.

The main building will include team and coaches/staff locker rooms, athletic training and sports performance rooms, player lounge and dining facility, equipment and laundry rooms, team meeting rooms, reception area and media work space, as well as offices for the coaching staff, technical director and other team support staff.

Academy-specific spaces include locker rooms, coaches’ offices and meeting rooms.

The Mercy Health Training Center is expected to directly generate at least $1.6 million for the local economy and will contribute to the almost $6.8 million in increased economic activity to the general area.

FC Cincinnati’s Mercy Health inaugural MLS jerseys will be released publicly in early 2019, ahead of its first games in Major League Soccer.

FC Cincinnati is a professional soccer club that currently plays in the United Soccer League, and has been selected as an expansion team to begin play in Major League Soccer, the nation’s top league, in 2019. The club’s ownership group is led by majority owner Carl H. Lindner III and also includes Scott Farmer and George Joseph. Launched in 2015 by current President and General Manager Jeff Berding, FCC began play in the USL in 2016. The club has earned postseason berths in each of its USL seasons, and, in 2017, also advanced to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup that included pair of victories over MLS squads. The team currently plays its home games at the historic Nippert Stadium on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.