FC Cincinnati has enough City Council votes to pass West End stadium deal, VP Jeff Berding says

Jeff Berding says he skipped a trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Sunday to watch his soccer club play. With the fate of FC Cincinnati’s bid for a Major League Soccer franchise hanging in the balance, it’s a good thing he did. Instead, the FC Cincinnati president and general manager said he met with West End community leaders to put the finishing touches on a Community Benefits Agreement that appeared to clear the last hurdle in the way of a stadium deal that's going to City Council vote on Monday. Berding said he’s confident that council member Jeff Pastor, who threatened to derail the deal – and possibly the club’s MLS hopes -  is now on board and that the deal is a go. With four of nine council members declaring themselves “No”  votes, FC Cincinnati needed Pastor’s vote to get approval. “We’ve had great leadership at City Hall. I expect that tomorrow the ordinances that provide the public infrastructure to support our privately funded stadium will be approved,” Berding said Sunday after three days of last-ditch meetings in hopes of sealing the deal. It calls for the city to provide $34 million for site support for the 21,000-seat stadium.