Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) High School is the only school in the region without a football stadium of its own. Summit Park could be the answer to the school’s lack of facilities, but the stadium and indoor facility have yet to sign a deal with any Cincinnati-based athletics program and nearby residents expressed concerns at this week’s city council meeting.
According to Cincinnati News, the project includes two components: a 5,000-seat outdoor stadium known as ‘The Summit’ that could be a high school football venue as well as hosting concerts and other events. The Summit would be surrounded by a hotel, apartments and a restaurant. Also included in the project is the field house, an indoor facility focused on providing space for youth sports. It could also accommodate trade shows, weddings and retail space.
Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) High School is the only school in the region without a football stadium of its own. Summit Park could be the answer to the school’s lack of facilities, but the stadium and indoor facility have yet to sign a deal with any Cincinnati-based athletics program and nearby residents expressed concerns at this week’s city council meeting.
According to Cincinnati News, the project includes two components: a 5,000-seat outdoor stadium known as ‘The Summit’ that could be a high school football venue as well as hosting concerts and other events. The Summit would be surrounded by a hotel, apartments and a restaurant. Also included in the project is the field house, an indoor facility focused on providing space for youth sports. It could also accommodate trade shows, weddings and retail space.
“The original vision was to build a stadium for Moeller’s football program,” said Mashall Hyzdu, former president of Moeller High School. Hyzdu is now a project consultant on the Summit Park project.
At the city council meeting, Vandercar Holdings LLC and other stakeholders once again presented their plan for the $150 million Summit Park project. The city council must “give its approval before any tenancy deal is signed.”
Despite some residents sympathizing with Moeller High School’s need for a football stadium, many expressed concerns with conflicts of interest between the city council and the project stakeholders. Others cited traffic concerns and unsupervised teenagers in the area. Members of the city council also expressed concerns, mainly with the type of mixed-use development that could be built around the stadium.
“The current plan lacks an office component (…) The developers say changes in workplace culture and ‘decreased demands for Class A office space throughout Greater Cincinnati’s suburban office markets accelerated by the COVID pandemic’ contributed to the alteration.”
The final vote to determine the fate of Summit Park will take place on June 12. If approved, some venues would be operational by 2027.
