Bengals' future in Cincinnati faces critical week with possible Paycor Stadium vote

New York Times

10 hours ago

For the average fan, negotiations of the stadium lease between the Bengals and Hamilton County are easy to push to the back of the mind.
Years of political finger-pointing, lawyers posturing over hundreds of millions of dollars in backroom meetings and county commissioner session debates aren't exactly the fun side of sports.
Advertisement
It might be fun to focus on Joe Burrow's off-target pitches, Ja'Marr Chase's in-flight TikTok encounters or even the unsettled beef between the Bengals and their edge rushers, but all of that is nearly irrelevant in the big picture compared to the decisions coming to a head with the stadium this week.
A June 30 deadline looms for the Bengals and the county to agree on an extension or a new lease of Paycor Stadium. They are not there yet. The team's future in the city hangs in the balance.
Hamilton County released two April offers exchanged with the Bengals earlier this month. Those showed a wide gap between the sides in terms of contribution, length and type, but both sides have quietly gone about bridging the gap in the months since.
The last regularly scheduled commissioners meeting before the deadline is set for 10 a.m. ET Thursday and could initiate a vote among Hamilton County Commission President Denise Driehaus and fellow commissioners Stephanie Summerow Dumas and Alicia Reece regarding a potential agreement.
They are working on the many details that would lock the Bengals into Hamilton County for an extended period and finalizing a renovation project set forth in a memorandum of understanding between the two sides in April.
Without an agreement, the Bengals can exercise a two-year rolling extension on the current lease that runs through the 2027 season. The Bengals have to send a letter stating their intention by June 30.
A critical part of the agreement involves the Bengals and NFL contributing $120 million through a G-5 loan, which allows teams to borrow from the NFL with a requirement to match the funds with their own money. That has been marked for renovations of the two club lounges, concessions and all 132 suites.
If an agreement isn't reached by the deadline, the G-5 contribution could be in jeopardy, which holds significant ramifications.
Advertisement
Those could set in motion the Bengals exploring options elsewhere during the two-year window.
When asked about the concept of leaving Cincinnati during the league meetings in April, Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn, daughter of President Mike Brown, didn't rule anything out while emphasizing a desire to stay in Cincinnati.
'We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn't pick the option up,' Blackburn said. 'We'll see. Like I said, all these things will be done in due course. We are having discussions, and so we're hopeful that the county is thinking about it a lot, too, and wants to get it addressed in a way that would be beneficial to both of us.'
The commissioners approved by a 2-1 vote a $1.5 million renovation of the stadium escalators during a June 12 meeting. This was at least a small sign of movement while the rest of the major sticking points are being worked out.
'The Bengals have made it clear they want to stay here in Cincinnati, and we are working hard to find a solution with the team,' Driehaus said at that session.
Hamilton County representatives have made a point of wanting a deal on par with other markets across the league, even hiring David Abrams, of Inner Circle Sports, as a consultant with a background helping deals get done in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Nashville.
The closest recent comparisons to this proposed renovation (a downtown stadium not including new construction) across the NFL come from the other Queen City of Charlotte, N.C., and AFC North rival Baltimore.
One year ago this week, the Charlotte City Council approved an $800 million renovation to its downtown Bank of America Stadium.
Under the agreement, the city kicked in $650 million from hospitality taxes and tourism projects.
Panthers owner David Tepper, who also owns Major League Soccer's Charlotte FC, which shares the stadium, covered the remaining $150 million along with an estimated $421 million in upkeep in a deal that tied Carolina to Charlotte for 20 years.
Advertisement
The Ravens operate within the Maryland Stadium Authority and are in the process of a three-year, $489 million renovation funded largely by the state. The Ravens have agreed to $55 million in contributions, with the MSA reimbursing up to $35 million. The deal signed in 2023 locked the Ravens to Baltimore through 2037, according to the Baltimore Banner.
In Cincinnati, the end goal of both sides has stayed the same, but just as every stadium project across a building boom in the NFL is different, there are varying views on the proper path.
'We love where we are,' Blackburn said in April. 'I'm a big proponent of being downtown. I think that's a great thing for the city. I think the location of the stadium right now is good. I think our stadium, obviously, needs to continue to be maintained appropriately, and you want to keep it at a certain level. That's important just so that we're competitive with others.'
Will the Bengals reach an extension agreement lasting 10 or more years? Will they get a cap on how many years to pay $1 million in rent? How much will the renovation cost? Will they get a totally new lease and leave the criticized old agreement? Will they find a contribution breakdown that works for all sides?
All these smaller questions lead to the one big one that matters: Can these two sides do what it takes to ensure that the Bengals stay in Hamilton County while placing less burden on the taxpayers?
Days, months, years and decades of consternation over this lease arrive at a decisive moment. If deadlines make deals in the NFL, this one is a doozy. The future of the Bengals and their impact on The Banks, the city and the county are at stake.