COLUMBUS — The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and FC Cincinnati all want hundreds of millions for stadium projects, which could dominate debate as the Ohio legislature returns to session this week.
The Ohio House passed a $600 million bond deal for a $1.2 billion domed stadium and entertainment district at Brook Park for the Cleveland Browns on April 9.
The deal specifically excluded the Bengals.
“I think if we do for one, we have to do for all. It’s either do all, or do none,” said Sen. George Lang, a Republican from Butler County who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on stadium funding requests.
Lawmakers received separate requests for additional funding from the Bengals and FC Cincinnati. The Bengals and Hamilton County want $350 million for Paycor Stadium renovations. FC Cincinnati wants to be reimbursed for 30% of construction costs on its planned $332 million mixed-use development near TQL Stadium.
"Don’t be afraid to ask. If you don’t ask, you don’t get," Lang said. "So you can’t blame them for asking."
Hear more about what sports teams are asking the state to pay for:
Lang favors creating new community authority districts, drawn in geographic areas around stadiums, where business and property owners can vote to increase sales taxes to raise money to make payments on the project’s debt.
“I would like to explore that scenario; taxpayers are not on the hook,” Lang said. “For the Bengals, they could literally make The Banks the project. It may make sense for it to expand a little bit further. And for FC Cincinnati, that whole development around there, I mean, it is exploding.”
If Lang’s colleagues won’t back his idea, then he would support selling state bonds to pay for stadium projects, like what Ohio House lawmakers propose for the Cleveland Browns. But Lang wants strict conditions attached.
“We should not participate in this if these teams are going to hold us hostage in 25 or 30 years and say, ‘Give me more or I’m leaving,’” Lang said. “For the Browns, I’d like a 50-year commitment. For the Bengals, I’d like a 30-year commitment.”
Lang, who serves as Senate Majority Whip, wants the teams and taxpayers to share equally in the liability should the bonds go into default.
“We (the state) get a small percentage of the revenue,” Lang said, either from television, tickets, game day sales and beer revenue. “The purpose of which is that 100% of the money goes directly to pay off those bonds quicker.”
The Bengals’ quest for stadium funding took a step forward last week when Hamilton County announced an agreement with the team on an $830 million renovation plan for Paycor Stadium, including a $184.5 million first phase in which the team and the NFL cover $120 million in renovated suites and lounges, better concession areas and improvements to stadium plazas.
Hamilton County commissioners are set to vote on the memorandum of understanding Tuesday.
For its share, the county would spend $64.5 million on infrastructure projects such as new elevators, stairs, escalators, suite seat replacements, glass refurbishment, electrical upgrades and a new Junglevision control room.
The county will also spend $16 million more on "maintenance, operations, and capital repair obligations," according to the lease.
How much should professional sports teams contribute if they want state help for stadium projects?
“Common sense would tell you the Bengals are the entity that stands to win the most in whatever we do,” Lang said. “Without looking at the details, I think they should have the biggest part of the pie ... they’re going to high-ball it, if you will, and it’s up to us to negotiate to make sure that we get a fair deal for the taxpayers.”
Lang has spoken with lobbyists from FC Cincinnati and others representing the Cleveland Browns' stadium deal. He has been in contact with Hamilton County on many issues, but has not had (as of April 24) a direct, specific conversation about funding for Paycor Stadium.
“But I suspect they’re coming now,” Lang said.
Lang’s colleague on the Senate Finance Committee is fellow Republican Bill Blessing from Colerain Township. Blessing was set to meet with the Bengals on April 23, following an interview at WCPO.
Blessing said professional sports teams should support Gov. Mike DeWine’s plan to create a new funding source for stadium improvements by raising Ohio’s sports-betting tax. The Cleveland Browns derailed the governor's plan by getting the Ohio House to endorse a $600 million bond deal for its new stadium.
Blessing has introduced a bill that could revive DeWine’s stadium funding plan in a Senate version of the budget.Senate Bill 150 would increase the sports betting tax to 36% and require teams to submit proposals to a newly created “sports venue redevelopment commission.”
“I would fight hard against that,” said Lang, who won’t support any new tax unrelated to economic development or infrastructure needs such as roads, bridges and stormwater management.
During an April 24 interview at WCPO, Lang said he hadn’t had conversations with his Republican caucus yet because it was still too early in the budget process.
Meanwhile, if Blessing is successful in reviving the sports gambling tax hike, the new fund would carry strict rules for teams, such as opening stadiums to more concerts when football isn’t being played.
“You can get state dollars ... but you’re going to concede on some things,” Blessing said. “There are going to be off-season events at the stadium because it’s a public asset ... we’ve heard stories from around here with teams saying, ‘No, this is our stadium; you can’t use that.’”
Blessing said he would rather see state money focused specifically on stadium construction and renovation, and not on apartments or entertainment districts, because it could potentially squeeze out the Bengals and Cincinnati Reds, who already have those amenities.
Like Lang, Blessing also wants team owners to contribute more toward stadium construction costs.
“We can demand more money from the teams up front in order to get state dollars,” Blessing said.
