Ten years ago, Jeff Berding was part of a collective effort to help relocate First Financial Bank’s headquarters to downtown Cincinnati. On Tuesday afternoon, Berding, FC Cincinnati’s Team President and General Manager, and the bank announced a multi-year deal that will see First Financial Bank as the expansion club’s Exclusive Banking and Financial Services Partner.
“On a personal level, it’s a real thrill to be here at First Financial Bank,” Berding said at an eighth-floor press conference. “I was part of an effort to help bring First Financial Bank to downtown Cincinnati. Ten years later, to be standing here…seems like good deeds from a long time ago to now come to some amazing fruition.”
The details of the partnership include club and stadium assets beginning the next two seasons at Nippert Stadium before relocating to West End Stadium in 2021. The bank will have ATMs at the future stadium, in addition to naming rights at a stadium gates at both stadiums . Additionally, there will be FC Cincinnati-branded debit cards available.
The partnership will also see community programming, fan experiences, game day and in-game activations and consumer banking programs.
“Because community is so centric to what we do at FC Cincinnati, we are thrilled to have a hometown bank,” Berding said. “This multi-year deal with a community-focused partner in First Financial Bank aligns brilliantly with our goals and objectives.”
The bank is one of the financing partners as FCC continues to build its future Major League Soccer stadium.
“It’s exciting,” said First Financial President and CEO Archie M. Brown Jr. “It’s a big day for us. …There are so many unlimited opportunities that will come out of this because of the partnership.”
Brown said negotiations with FC Cincinnati were ongoing for several months. Throughout his speech during the press conference, he mentioned the importance of his business aligning with the club to spread visibility within the community, as well as reiterate a partnership with success.
“I knew with Jeff and that ownership group there’s a real commitment to winning and excellence,” Brown added. “We really believe in partners that are committed to excellence like that. …We reached out and wanted to be a part of it.”
The CEO said his employees were ecstatic when they learned of the partnership, with some mentioning their excitement to him.
“Jeff mentioned the recent history of helping us move downtown,” Brown said. “The company’s roots are in Butler County. “While we’ve been here 10 years, there’s still visibility [opportunities]. We’re not as well known in the community as we want to be. So, we just think this is going to take it to another level.”
