I-Team: What's the real cost of FC Cincinnati's stadium?

An I-Team analysis of contracts between FC Cincinnati and its various public partners shows the Major League Soccer club’s real estate projects could cost taxpayers more than $200 million in their first 20 years of operation. This includes borrowing costs of more than $80 million and property tax exemptions worth more than $100 million. It’s still a better deal for taxpayers than local governments struck with MLS teams in Nashville and Columbus. And it’s light years ahead of the lopsided agreements that built Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park. But it’s far less favorable than the terms first sketched out in November 2017, when city and county leaders first pledged their help in securing an MLS franchise for Cincinnati.