WATCH: FC Cincinnati shines a light on new downtown stadium

The club-funded $250,000 stadium features vertical fins lined with 9,000 LED lighting strips to provide a 700-foot motion lighting feature along the exterior. SACO is the lighting company that worked alongside architect Populous on the stadium design.

West End Stadium is set to host its first match May 16 as FCC plays Inter Miami CF in a 4 p.m. game on FOX, but Turner Construction will officially clear out in mid-April. FCC will then move into its new offices and begin training gameday staff over the next month, while the Orange and Blue begin the season on the road.

FC Cincinnati, which opens April 17 at Nashville, spent the last two MLS seasons -- and first three years as a United Soccer League side – hosting games at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium. The promise to construct a soccer-specific stadium was part of its invitation into MLS, and FCC broke ground in the West End neighborhood of Cincinnati on December 19, 2018 – seven months after winning an expansion bid.

West End Stadium is one of two stadiums in the world with the kind of LED architectural lighting on display Thursday night, according to Berding. The “fins” purposefully wrap around the east side of the stadium, facing the commercial area of the neighborhood and away from the residential homes on the west side so as not to disrupt neighbors.

Berding said during a media tour of the stadium late last month the “fins” display a singular twisting motion to signify the tension between the two teams taking the pitch. Eventually a corporate sponsors’ name could be featured in that lighting or with other prominent signage, but Berding said the naming rights are still in the works and the facility will continue to be called West End Stadium until then.

FC Cincinnati’s merchandise and concessions will be vastly upgraded from the options at Nippert, and the team will play on a natural grass surface. A 40,000-square foot team store will rank as the largest in MLS, and fans will have the option of ordering food and beverages from their seats to pick up in an express lane at the concession stands to help serve as many fans as possible during the 15-minute halftime period.

The club seeks to make West End Stadium a destination for soccer fans. That comes across before entering the building, even during the daytime when the lights aren’t on display. A grand staircase leads up to the “front porch” of the stadium, where vice president of facilities and stadium general manager Dan Lolli said 70 percent of fans will enter on game days on the East side of the stadium.

FCC already had sold more than 15,000 season tickets before opening sales up to new account holders Feb. 24, and club seats are sold out.