CINCINNATI — Cincinnati residents will find out on June 16 if the city won a bid to host FIFA World Cup soccer matches in the summer of 2026, according to the Associated Press.

A winning bid wouldn’t just be a boost for soccer fans; it could also benefit the Cincinnati Bengals.

That’s because World Cup matches would be played at Paul Brown Stadium, which will be 26 years old by game time. The facility is already considered middle aged by NFL standards.

As the Bengals begin negotiations with Hamilton County over a new lease, expensive upgrades to the stadium could be a sticking point. County officials say taxpayers may be more willing to pay for stadium upgrades if they also benefit the World Cup.

“The county will be keen on honing in to where the overlap is, and then perhaps prioritizing those enhancements because they serve a dual purpose and it’s more bang for the buck,” said Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus. “A lot of it is the same kind of stuff that we’re going to be thinking about anyway. And that’s intentional.”

A delegation of FIFA officials visited Cincinnati last October and toured Paul Brown Stadium as part of its nationwide vetting of potential host cities. The stadium's seating capacity is more than 60,000 and it was designed to transition to a soccer field from a football field.

“When Paul Brown Stadium was built there was an expectation that soccer might be played in that stadium. So, we have the capability, pretty easily, to remove the corners to widen that field and also to remove those seats so that they’re not in the way,” Driehaus said.

FIFA had been expected to announce the winning World Cup host cities in April, but their decision was delayed by some late information and the addition of Vancouver as a potential host.

“You’ve got three countries in the mix, and you’ve got the World Cup organizers who will want to spread it out a little bit,” said Kevin Reichard, publisher of Football Stadium Digest and Soccer Stadium Digest.

World Cup games will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico with games in all three countries. In all, 16 U.S. metro areas are competing to be among the 10 or 11 hosts for matches.

Major cities such as Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Dallas, Boston and Philadelphia are in the running. But Cincinnati is vying to host games in the earlier rounds of the tournament and competing against regional cities such as Kansas City, Nashville and Denver.

Julio Cortez/AP

Several national rankings placed Cincinnati as a long shot to win World Cup matches. Some gave low marks to Paul Brown Stadium, noting that other stadiums are newer, hold more fans and have domes to protect against heat and storms.

A report in February by 42Floors, a branch of California-based real estate data firm Yardi, ranked Cincinnati as 7^th among the then 17 cities vying to host World Cup matches.

The report gave high marks to Cincinnati for its soccer team training facilities and fan fest venues at The Banks and Sawyer Park, and decent scores for its airport proximity and number of hotel rooms.

But the report ranked Paul Brown Stadium as 16^th out of the then 17 competing cities, noting that FIFA places significant emphasis on stadiums in its selection.

Paul Brown Stadium is already under the microscope. The Bengals’ lease with Hamilton County expires in 2026 and negotiations over expensive stadium upgrades have already begun.

The Bengals and the county hired Gensler Sports to evaluate Paul Brown Stadium. The architecture and design firm revealed the results of its capital assessment during an April 26 meeting. It called for extensive repairs over the next two decades to the stadium, which opened in 2000.

The price tag for those repairs is $493 million (in 2021 dollars) focusing largely on repairing and painting steel connections and frames; fixing concrete stair landings; replacing stadium seats and light fixtures; upgrading electric and plumbing; and stopping frequent water leaks.

Emily Gibney

The assessment, paid for by the county and the Bengals, specifically mentioned that stadium upgrades could help win the World Cup.

“It should be noted that recent improvements and renovations that result from the information in this assessment report will significantly contribute to local efforts in securing large scale events such as World Cup,” according to the capital assessment summary.

A second round of potential upgrades to Paul Brown Stadium will be revealed this fall – likely $200 million more in fan enhancements such as mega suites, luxury lounges, high-end food and drink, easier stadium entry, and new signs and scoreboards.

Dwayne Slavey

County officials have not said which updates they will pay for or what their potential budget is.

But, in anticipation of the World Cup bid and for the Bengals, county officials have already started to upgrade the Wi-Fi connectivity at Paul Brown Stadium.

“What can we offer by way of that bid to make it enticing for the World Cup to come here … and these are things that are already on the table, so let’s do that,” Driehaus said.

FIFA also requires that World Cup games be played on grass, so the Bengals’ turf field will have to be removed if Cincinnati wins the bid.

“I’m very positive that we may be selected because we have tried so hard to adjust to what they are saying they need,” said Hamilton County Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas. “I’ve heard the Bengals may possibly want to keep the grass (field) so we may not have to go back and forth … with the renovations.”

Phil Didion | WCPO file

Also on the county’s radar: adding automated signs to streets during games to alleviate traffic congestion and recommend better routes to parking areas and gates, Dumas said.

Reichard, the publisher of the stadium digests, said FIFA likely won’t require a long list of upgrades to Paul Brown Stadium because soccer’s world governing body is most concerned about the volume of seating.

“World Cup officials tend to stress just sheer numbers in terms of how many fans they can cram into the stadium. It’s not a high-end sort of play for a stadium, it’s more of a ‘how many butts can we fit into a space,’” Reichard said. “They also want to make sure that there’s plenty of amenities and hotel rooms for the fans as well … so it’s not necessarily a stadium-facility issue, it’s more a matter of logistics for a big event.”

Cincinnati may not win a World Cup bid because of Paul Brown Stadium, but Joe Cobbs, a professor of sports business at Northern Kentucky University, hopes the city doesn’t lose it because of the stadium.

Darko Bandic/AP

“I think our goal should be to try and renovate the stadium in a way that doesn’t eliminate us from that conversation solely because of the stadium,” Cobbs said. “I don’t think we’re going to win the bid based on our stadium, that’s just not going to happen … but hopefully the city could win the World Cup bid based on other aspects.”

Rick Eckstein, a national stadium expert and sociology professor at Villanova University, said FIFA uses an incredibly complex algorithm to select World Cup host cities.

And once FIFA makes a decision, it will only say why it chose the winning host cities. It never says why it didn’t select certain cities, Eckstein said.

If Cincinnati isn’t chosen, the reasons why, “could be manipulated and will be manipulated,” Eckstein said.

“I can imagine there are even some people who might appreciate being turned down for the World Cup,” Eckstein said. “Because now it would be an added motivator to say, ‘now look what happened, we’ve got this third-grade stadium, we can’t even get the World Cup.’”

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Northern Kentucky University will work to diversify the education workforce, thanks to a grant awarded by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. 

“Nationally, about 80% of teachers are white. In Kentucky, 95% of teachers are white. It’s a moral imperative at this point that we do something about diversifying the workforce,” said Ginni Fair, Dean of NKU’s College of Education.

The grant is for $100,000. NKU will match that with an additional $100,000.

According to Fair, the university will take a three-pronged approach to achieving its goal.

First, it’ll work to meet an immediate need by offering scholarships for the Masters of Arts in Teaching program to teachers of color. That’s an 18-month online program where teachers can work in the classroom while getting their certification. Students on campus for content area majors such as history or math can also receive a scholarship to pursue a minor in education.

The university also plans to create a pipeline of future educators.

“(We plan) to get into these diverse high schools and establish some clubs for groups such as Educators Rising so we can start connecting with those students as early as 11th and 12th grade,” said Fair.

Finally, Fair said, the university will look at how it prepares all educators, helping them to be the “most effective advocates for their students in the classroom.”

NKU will partner with three area school districts as part of this initiative, including Covington Independent Schools, Newport and Erlanger-Elsmere school districts.

“We whole-heartedly acknowledge the need for our staff to better reflect our population. It just makes sense,” said Ken Kippenbrock, Executive Director Human Resources and operations at Covington Independent Schools.

According to Kippenbrock, 62% of students attending the district are students of color. Yet, only 23% of the total staff at the district are people of color.

“We simply don’t have the candidates and we need to be more intentional about our recruiting efforts,” he said.

“It’s not that folks don’t want to be teachers. It’s that a lot of them don’t understand that it’s a viable option for them,” said Dr. David Childs, NKU professor and founder of Black and Brown Educators of Excellence.

Childs said the grant money will not only help to diversify the education workforce, but will create a better learning environment for students.

“The research shows, when students have someone that looks like them and also can culturally relate to them and can affirm them, they perform better academically,” he said.

Fair said the university plans to recruit during the springtime, with the hope of enrolling people into the MAT program in the summer.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — A woman who died in a crash in Boone County on Monday is being remembered for her friendship, humor and dedication to her craft this week.

Twenty-one-year-old Allyson Davis, who hailed from Floyd County, Kentucky and was a senior musical theatre student at Northern Kentucky University, died Monday morning in a crash on I-75 near Walton.

"She was a wonderful young lady and it is an understatement that we will miss her greatly," NKU School of the Arts leaders said in an online statement.

Davis was recently the lead in “Tick Tick Boom!” and played Little Buttercup in “HMS Pinafore” at NKU.

“Her talent was only matched by the size of her heart and her infectious smile, which could light up any room. Ally was loved by her classmates and a true friend through the best and hardest of times. The dedication to which she pursued her craft was an inspiration to all of us,” the statement continued.

“In class, on stage, or passing in the hallways, Ally made you feel as if you'd been friends for a lifetime. She represents the best in all of us, and we will forever be lucky to have enjoyed her artistry, friendship, and love of life.”

A GoFundMe set up by students for a memorial for Davis and to support her family has already raised over $8,300 as of Wednesday afternoon. To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

A visitation for Davis will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m.

Some Tri-State colleges are back in the classroom Monday, and there are some changes in place at these schools to keep students and staff healthy and safe.

Northern Kentucky University and the University of Cincinnati are back in session, and both schools have mask policies in place for their students.

"Unfortunately, the risk of infection with the delta variant of COVID-19 is very high in our region and we must take steps to protect our campus community," NKU officials wrote in a release. "Given the high level of community spread of the Delta variant... we have no choice but to require masks indoors on campus for all persons, vaccinated and unvaccinated."

NKU will provide reusable masks to all faculty, staff and students. Limited quantities of disposable masks may be available at the Welcome Center, Student Union and University Center Information Desks, Steely Library Distribution Desk, and Campus Recreation during normal business hours.

NKU is offering free COVID-19 vaccines at their Health, Counseling and Wellness office. Call 859-572-5650 or email hcsw@nku.edu for an appointment. Kentucky residency is not required.

UC is also requiring masks for all students, regardless of their vaccination status. Outdoor masks will also be required for people who are not fully vaccinated if they cannot also maintain social distancing.

Students who are vaccinated can send a picture of their vaccine card to UC Public Health. Students who are not vaccinated must either show proof that they have recently tested negative or receive a COVID-19 test from the university and consent to restricted campus access until their results arrive. UC will provide COVID-19 tests for students.

UC will also hold a drawing each week for students who have been fully vaccinated to win cash prizes of $2,500 or $5,000. The university plans on distributing $50,000 this semester for the drawings.

As more employers are starting to require their employers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, some people online are suggesting people refuse the vaccine so their employer will fire them, allowing them to collect unemployment. However, it's not that simple.

"If a company has a policy requiring vaccines, and an employee won't comply, that would generally be considered a firing for cause, which would render that individual ineligible for Ohio unemployment benefits," Northern Kentucky law professor Ken Katkin said.

The Ohio unemployment handbook says firing for cause can be "violating established company rules" or "disregarding the employers' interest." Kentucky and Indiana have similar provisions in place.

If someone said they have a medical disability that prevents them from getting the vaccine, that would be a valid claim under certain circumstances.

"If and only if somebody has an actual disability that's recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act," Katkin said.

Claiming a religious exemption is also possible, but in order to get that exemption a person would likely need to provide evidence that they adhere to those religious teachings.

Katkin said employees need to use the procedures employers provide to seek exemptions and not to expect to just be fired. Without going through those processes, Katkin said, people shouldn't expect to receive unemployment compensation.

CINCINNATI —

A local professor who studies misinformation about vaccines on social media is adding new insights into the concerns by President Biden that the myths are “costing lives.”

“There are groups of individuals that are doing the work to try to create misinformation, propaganda for various reasons, even monetary reasons,” said Northern Kentucky University's Dr. Traian Marius Truta.

Truta is a professor of computer science, and since 2018, has studied vaccine misinformation spread by social media. Truta said determining exactly how much of an impact misinformation has is hard to quantify.

“Social media plays a huge role in spreading misinformation however, social media also plays an important role in eliminating misinformation,” Truta said.

One myth that gained traction on social media was that the vaccine had a tracking device, another myth claimed that the vaccine made people magnetic. Truta said the most ridiculous claims are believed by fewer people.

“There are some, but very few. I doubt there are very many that are not taking their vaccine because of those claims,” Truta said.

Social media is only one part of the complex misinformation issue. Even if it is hard to measure, the impact is apparent to many doctors.

“The medical community and the scientific communities are trying to get good scientific information out there but it’s a constant uphill battle when things are coming from all different sources that are untrue,” said TriHealth medical director for infectious diseases Dr. Stephen Blatt.

Overdramatizing actual side effects is another form of misinformation and is sometimes very effective. Blatt said false claims that sound like they could be real are also hard to stop.

“One of the ones that’s come up recently is that the COVID vaccine interferes with fertility in men in women. That’s not true. The vaccines are very safe, even in pregnant women and they don’t cause infertility and that’s important to know,” Blatt said.

President Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy are calling on social media platforms to do more to reign in misinformation about vaccines.

“We know that health misinformation harms people’s health. It costs them their lives,” Murthy said.