Work on FC Cincinnati's new stadium was halted following a pair of "racist incidents" on site involving subcontractors in the past week, the vice president of the firm overseeing construction announced on Monday.
"This past week, we had two racist incidents from subcontractors on the work site," Turner Construction VP David Spaulding said in a statement, as reported in The Cincinnati Enquirer. "Turner has zero tolerance for racism and hate. We removed the people responsible for these actions from the site and they will not be allowed back."
Spaulding also confirmed that work would not resume until "every single person on the site" has participated in anti-bias training. FC Cincinnati also issued a statement in support of the actions taken by Turner Construction.
"FC Cincinnati was shocked to hear of two racist incidents on the stadium job site," the statement read. "FC Cincinnati will not tolerate racism on the stadium job site or any part of the FC Cincinnati organization. We all must be vigilant in working to address systemic racism that unfortunately exists within our country and local community."
Work on the stadium, located in Cincinnati's West End, began in December 2018, and the 26,000-capacity facility is scheduled to open in March 2021.
