Williams: How much Cincinnati Bengals, NFL should at least pay for Paycor Stadium fix

Posted by Admin September 18, 2024 NFL

Rise up, Hamilton County taxpayers. Wise up. Wake up.

You’ve officially been summoned to call and email commissioners Alicia Reece, Denise Driehaus and Stephanie Dumas – or attend their weekly meetings – and demand they stand strongly for you vs. the Cincinnati Bengals in the new Paycor Stadium lease negotiations.

Serious talks are supposed to start after the county on Tuesday unveiled it’ll cost $1.25 billion to upgrade the riverfront stadium and surrounding area.

Here are three things taxpayers should demand of the commissioners during the process:

Cincinnati Bengals, NFL should pay at least $500 million

The Bengals/NFL must pay at least 40% of the cost. That’s generally what the public is being asked to pay for new stadiums/stadium upgrades across the NFL. Assuming the price tag remains as is, the Bengals/NFL/private sector should pay no less than $500 million. Some of the smaller upgrades are already done or underway.

You’re thinking the Bengals should pay more. Yes, they should given how much the team has already received via the sweetheart deal it’s been operating under since the stadium opened in 2000. (Taxpayers have already paid around $1 billion for the stadium, including original construction, upkeep, upgrades and interest payments.)

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. There is a premium, corporate-welfare cost for places to have an NFL franchise.

Now, if you think the Bengals are just going to happily cough up a half-billion without a fight, then you’re either new to the game or you’re one of those costume-wearing superfans who’s eternally optimistic about the Bengals. (Or you just don’t care because, like a big chunk of the fanbase, you don’t live in Hamilton County.)

It’s important to know the Bengals have the same key people at the negotiating table who struck the current deal. The team does deals the same way it always has. The Bengals count every penny down at 1 Paycor Stadium, and they do it with no regard for public relations. (Google “Ja’Marr Chase contract dispute” for the latest example.)

The Bengals covered 6% of the original stadium construction cost. In fairness, the Bengals announced earlier this year they planned to invest $100 million to upgrade the stadium.

Please note, Hamilton County voters have no direct say on the stadium money at the ballot box. The half-cent stadium tax voters approved in 1996 is permanently in place.

The state will help foot part of the public subsidy. Kudos to Commissioner Reece for proactively meeting with Gov. Mike DeWine to begin discussions about the state chipping in.

Bengals can build suburban practice facility

Commissioners should tell the Bengals to go build a practice complex and team headquarters away from the stadium area. It’s comical that the proposed new riverfront complex – which includes a permanent indoor practice facility, outdoor practice fields and the Bengals’ corporate offices – is lumped into the stadium upgrade price tag.

A practice complex/team headquarters adjacent to Paycor Stadium would cost $249 million, according to estimates The Enquirer obtained from the county. It’s the single largest line item on the list of proposed upgrades.

The practice facility also doesn’t belong on prime riverfront land, which should be preserved for parking and other development that can be used year round.

Solution: The Bengals could move their practice facility and team headquarters to the suburbs. Almost every other NFL team has its practice facility/team headquarters in a separate location than its home stadium, typically in the suburbs.

For years, there has been talk that other Greater Cincinnati counties should bear some of the cost to have an NFL franchise – especially with so many fans living outside the I-275 loop.

Well, here’s an opportunity to get buy-in from a suburban jurisdiction. Warren and Butler counties have plenty of money to offer a tax incentive to build the Bengals a new practice complex and team headquarters. Both counties also have plenty of available, ready-to-develop land.

Such a facility could be used for high school football games and concerts and spark surrounding development. It could generate additional revenue for the Bengals. It’s what the Dallas Cowboys, for example, have done with their suburban team headquarters.

Paycor Stadium negotiations must be transparent

We want regular updates on how things are going between the county and Bengals. We want the commissioners to tell us how much the Bengals are willing to pay. We want to know if the Bengals are threatening the leave if the county doesn’t give the team what it wants. We want public records provided on demand.

This didn’t happen last time. But that was a board of commissioners controlled by Republican buddies of Bengals ownership. This board is controlled by Democrats. The Bengals may still operate like its 1968. As a private organization, they can conduct business however they please. But the world around them has changed, and it’s a basic ask of the public for the county to be transparent.

Don’t let up on demanding transparency, folks. The county administration has a reputation of being secretive. Our reporters have regularly fought with the county to release public records, especially on stadium-related matters. Those are your records – not the county administrator’s and certainly not the Bengals’. Those commissioner meetings are public.

Make sure they remain open. Say something if the commissioners try to go into private sessions. They legally are allowed to discuss real estate matters in private. It doesn’t mean they have to.

Maybe this process will go differently than it did last time. But only if you demand it.

Contact columnist Jason Williams at jwilliams@enquirer.com