CINCINNATI — It’s a $470 million renovation plan with Hamilton County’s contribution capped at $350 million. But that’s just the start of taxpayer obligations that could flow from a letter of intent signed June 30 by the county and the Cincinnati Bengals.
In fact, it could end up costing the county more than $1.1 billion over 21 years, according to a WCPO 9 I-Team analysis of contract terms.
That’s because the proposed new lease calls for the county to pay up to $134 million for capital repairs to Paycor Stadium.
In addition, the county plans to issue bonds to pay for its $350 million contribution, which could lead to $210 million in new interest expense over 15 years.
Finally, the county reversed an earlier stance by agreeing to cover stadium operating expenses on the same terms as the old lease. That could add up to $418 million to the taxpayer tab.
WATCH: We break down what all of these numbers would mean for Hamilton County residents
The Bengals and the NFL would contribute $120 million toward the renovation project and up to $45 million more in rent, if the deal ends up being extended for 21 years. But in the end, the county would cover 87% of total expenses, while the team pays for 13% of the bills.
The I-Team shared its estimates with the team and the county, inviting both to comment on the analysis. Neither responded.
“I think it’s a good representation of not just the renovation cost but also the ongoing expenses and how that’s divvied up,” said Joe Cobbs, a professor and chair of the sports business program at Northern Kentucky University, who reviewed the analysis at the I-Team’s request. “I’m not in the negotiations, but one of the challenges on the county side is it doesn’t seem like they’re willing to risk losing the Bengals. And in any negotiation, if you’re not willing to walk away from the negotiation, then you have pretty limited power.”
Cobbs said the county was successful in eliminating risk, with language that could help it avoid paying for cost overruns and setting limits on capital spending.
“The value of that is now they can plan,” Cobbs said. “It gives them a little bit more certainty in their budgetary planning moving forward, at least for the next decade.”
The I-Team has been reviewing lease terms as the county gears up for a public hearing on the tentative lease deal, which could be finalized as early as July 31.
Here’s a breakdown of how we arrived at our estimates:
- Contract term: It’s an 11-year lease that ends in 2036, with team options to extend, two years at a time, to 2046. The first year of the lease would last only five months, if the deal is signed as hoped on July 31. That’s why our estimate includes only $7 million in spending for 2025. That’s 42% of what the county budgeted next year for Paycor Stadium personnel and other operating expenses.
- Renovation expense: The letter of intent said stadium renovations will take up to three years, with the team contributing $120 million toward the $470 million project. It also said, “The county’s contribution to the renovation project shall not exceed $350 million.” County officials say that means the team pays for cost overruns. Since there is no way to know whether overruns will happen, we plugged the letter of intent numbers directly into our estimate.
- Interest expense: Although debt is not mentioned in the letter of intent, county leaders said they will finance their portion of the renovation costs with a 15-year bond issue. We assumed a 4% interest rate in arriving at our estimate for $210 million in total interest expenses.
- Capital spending: The letter of intent said Hamilton County will pay $3 million for three years before doubling its annual capital contribution in year four. After that, the spending rises by the lesser of the U.S inflation rate or 2.5% each year. That translates to $134 million over 21 years.
- Rent: The Bengals committed to a similar framework for rent payments, starting with $1 million next year, rising to $2 million in year four. Each year after increases by up to 2.5%. That would lead to roughly $45 million in rent payments if the deal is extended to its maximum length.
- Operating expenses: Because this is a new lease, the county had an opportunity to restructure who pays for the operations and maintenance of Paycor Stadium. Instead, it kept old lease terms intact. The team will continue to pay for game-day expenses and keep all the revenue from those events. The county pays for everything else. So, we started with Hamilton County’s budget estimate for 2026. It will spend $16.9 million on personnel and other stadium expenses, excluding debt and capital spending. Increasing that amount annually for 21 years brings the total to $418 million.
You can see the entire spreadsheet of dollars that we put together below:
