CINCINNATI — Hamilton County Commissioners have approved a new lease document that would keep the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium for at least 11 years.
But it isn’t clear whether the Bengals will sign it because the team proposed alternate language that is not part of the county’s approved lease.
“We received a version of the lease from the team late last evening,” Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto told commissioners before they voted 2-1 in favor of the proposed lease. “The version before you … reflects the vast majority of what the county and the team have agreed to.”
WATCH: We break down the new lease approved by the county
Commissioners Denise Driehaus and Stephanie Summerow Dumas voted in favor of the 67-page county lease proposal, while Alicia Reece voted against it.
In a statement, the Bengals indicated they were surprised by the county's vote:
“The version of the lease approved by the Hamilton County Commissioners was not shared with the Bengals prior to the vote. The team will have no further comment until we are able to review the document.”
After the meeting, Aluotto described parking issues as the primary sticking point between the team and county.
“As development continues across The Banks, as lots go offline, as parking spaces are reduced, how do we go about accommodating that for the team?” Aluotto told reporters. “How do we go about compensating for the additional revenue or the revenue loss that the team would have?”
The county was concerned that the team’s contract language would become “an uncapped liability” for the county.
“We’ve sent back some language. What we sent back to the team that we think gets us there,” Aluotto said. “We’re hoping the team executes that. And we can move on with football on the riverfront.”
The county version of the lease calls for the county to reimburse the Bengals for lost parking revenue up to 350 spaces and $175,000 per football season. It also calls for the county to “engage in good faith discussions” with the team about “securing additional parking spaces” to replace those lost to development.
The WCPO 9 I-Team asked the team and the county to provide a copy of the Bengals proposed lease. But neither have done so.
The team and the county agreed in late June on the framework of a deal for a new lease that will run for 11 years through 2036, with an additional 10 years possible through options.
The term sheet, and a June 30 letter of intent, called for the Bengals to pay 25% of a $470 million renovation, while the county will be left to cover 75% of the costs.
But those terms were subject to final lease documents, which the parties expected to draft by July 31. Now that two versions of a lease document are in play, the Bengals have three options:
- Sign the county proposal
- Convince the county to extend the deadline
- Exercise its option to extend the original 1997 lease for two more years.
Northern Kentucky University Professor Joe Cobbs said both sides face a risk with their last-minute maneuvers.
“There is some risk on both sides to pushing this into the season," Cobbs said. "If the Bengals start out slow like they have recently, that’s going to hurt their momentum at the negotiating table somewhat and public perception of it. And the flip side (is) if they start out fast, people are going to be excited about that for sure. So, that's going to hurt the county's negotiating position."
In the meantime, new details emerged today about the long-term impact of the next Bengals lease.
Commissioner Reece said the deal will keep the county from funding an annual 30% property tax rebate that was promised to voters when they authorized a sales tax to fund stadium construction in 1996.
Commissioners vote on rebates annually, but they've only authorized the full 30% four times since 2011.
"This deal ... takes away our capability," Reece said. "I was told that we would never be able to do the 30%."
Commissioner Driehaus said the future of property-tax rebates will depend on sales-tax collections, as it always has.
"It is built into this agreement that we will have the PTR," Driehaus said. "The matter has always been the degree."
Driehaus said she isn't willing to jeopardize Hamilton County's general fund to cover stadium debt service and sales-tax revenue never met the original projections when the stadium deal was done.
"We simply can’t afford to pay the 30%. We can’t now. We can’t in the future, unless our revenues go up," Driehaus said. "To bankrupt this fund, then the general fund kicks in ... And our general fund is strained."
