CINCINNATI — Major League Soccer added Cincinnati in its latest round of expansion Tuesday, rewarding a city that has set attendance records during three seasons of United Soccer League play and has a stadium deal in place.
The announcement on Tuesday brings MLS to 26 teams, two shy of its ultimate goal. It began as a 10-team league in 1996.
Cincinnati will join next year, continuing to play at the University of Cincinnati’s football stadium while a 21,000-seat soccer stadium is built in the city’s low-income West End neighborhood. The stadium is expected to be ready for the 2021 season.