Mrs S and I never missed a Pitt / UC matchup at Nippert. It is a great venue for a game. It has a good atmosphere and energy for a game. We were at the big snow game where the UC mascot was arrested for throwing snow balls. When Pitt gets back there in a few years, we will be in attendance.

My favorite stadium in College Football. #1 by a mile.

In 2006, my brother moved to Cincinnati - I was down there visiting the weekend before Thanksgiving. We were kicking around ideas for something to do that night, and he said "The Bearcats are playing Rutgers in football this evening, we can go down there. I've been around campus but never seen a game there - it's a nice stadium."

I was a bit dubious - Rutgers was having a good year but why would I want to be outside for 4 hours in the cold to see them beat a (at-the-time) mid-tier college football team that had no real dreams beyond getting Bowl eligible and perhaps playing in the Motor City Bowl? And I'd never heard anything about Nippert Stadium being nice either. Barely even knew its name.

But we went. And the atmosphere and stadium and setting were incredible. College football at its best. I went from someone who had no interest in the game hours earlier to someone who (joining in with everyone else there) rushed the field at the game's end! In retrospect, it was also THE moment where UC football's rise went up 3 gears.

I moved to Cincinnati myself within a year, and now consider UC my #2 favorite team in college football (behind my alma mater, Penn State #1). And a lot of that has its roots in my experience on that night in November 2006.

I was in Cincinnati for work a few years ago, and went over to the UC campus while I had some extra time. There was an open gate to the stadium, so I walked in. It was set up for soccer that day, but it is a cool stadium. (The Cincinnati team played there as a lower division team, and was successful enough at the gate to move head of several other cities for a spot in MLS.) I was able to walk over to the memorial marker for Jimmy Nippert, and learned the story of him and his grandfather. Great story, cool old facility.

(05-01-2019 07:25 PM)Shannon Panther Wrote:  Mrs S and I never missed a Pitt / UC matchup at Nippert. It is a great venue for a game. It has a good atmosphere and energy for a game. We were at the big snow game where the UC mascot was arrested for throwing snow balls. When Pitt gets back there in a few years, we will be in attendance.

Still can't believe that one.

(04-29-2019 09:33 AM)MidWestMidMajor Wrote:  I was disappointed that the MLS made FC Cincinnati leave Nippert. MLS 2.0 has insisted that teams have their own soccer specific stadiums (although they occasionally give teams a pass like Atlanta and NYC). Generally playing in NFL stadiums hasn't been very good (looking at you Gillette stadium, although Seattle is not complaining). Having their own stadium allows the team to control revenue streams and scheduling better than being a tenant. However, the MLS has allowed exceptions, and I think they should have done so here. Nippert is not Gillette. FCC has created a great atmosphere at Nippert. And UC seems to have been very accommodating to FCC. Soccer at Nippert has been a great success. And I see that the poor West End community where FCC is going to build their new stadium is giving push back to the gentrification and displacement of locals for the entertainment of the wealthy.

I think they should have just stayed in Nippert; they created something special there. The cost of this project for FCC has to be inching towards $250 million. Could have used that money on their academy or youth soccer in the area in general.

https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2019/04/...residents/
https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2019/04/...ium-plans/

Totally agree with you. Although the new FC stadium is going to be really nice Nippert has been a great fit for them.