“Cup Season” Coming to TQL Stadium

April 19, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – FC Cincinnati News Release

“Cup Season” is coming to TQL Stadium, and it starts next week. Concurrently with the Major League Soccer regular season, it will bring a “beautiful game festival” to Cincinnati’s West End specifically and to the region overall.

Between Wed., April 26 and Thurs., July 27, TQL will host at least six matches, on at least five dates, in addition to FC Cincinnati’s seven MLS home games during the span. The additional matches will come in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the Leagues Cup (both involving FCC) and in the Concacaf Gold Cup (likely featuring the U.S. Men’s National Team and certainly other national teams from across the region).

“Cup season is another opportunity to showcase FCC, the city of Cincinnati and the sport of soccer in this region,” said Jeff Smith, FCC’s Executive Vice-President of Sales. “It presents a great chance for our loyal fans to experience something a little different and for new fans to become involved. It puts Cincinnati on the national and international stage and showcases TQL as the premier soccer stadium in America.”

Here’s a closer look at the three competitions coming in part to TQL. For ticket information, fans may visit FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or call (513) 977-5425 (KICK).

U.S. OPEN CUP

Next Wednesday at 7 p.m., FCC will host Louisville City FC of the USL Championship in a third-round game of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. (MLS clubs receive byes into the third round while lower-tier sides are competing to get there.) The match is the next chapter in a historically feisty series between the Ohio River rivals that began when both were in the USL.

“The Open Cup is an event that’s dear to our hearts here,” said Smith. “We have a great history in it, and we want to feature it particularly to families with kids and others who might not normally be able to come to an MLS game, whether that be due to pricing or to areas in the stadium where seats are no longer available.

“We have tickets beginning at as little as $10, and all food and beverages will be 25 percent off the regular prices. For kiddos, for youth soccer teams, this is a date folks really ought to consider.”

Fans can buy tickets to next week’s U.S. Open Cup fixture against Louisville City FC, HERE.

The Open Cup is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States, dating to 1914, more than 80 years before the 1996 birth of MLS. It has long stood out compared to other U.S….