(The Center Square) – Hamilton County’s Board of Commissioners heard a presentation on a $1.25 billion renovation of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paycor Stadium.
The presentation highlighted the need to take action on the stadium before the Bengals’ lease ends in 2026 on the stadium, built in 1997.
The current stadium’s lease agreement had the county taxpayers paying for 95% of the 1997 deal, according to Hamilton County Board of Commissioners President Alicia Reese. Those costs were paid through a half cent sales tax.
Reese also noted that the city pays for utilities at the current stadium including gas, water and electric while the team keeps stadium revenue. The Bengals have five two-year options to extend the current lease, as long as it’s done 12 months before the lease ends.
“It was done behind closed doors and the taxpayers felt that they had been screwed,” Reese said.
The proposal did not provide specifics of a deal for a renovation but discussed asking the state, Bengals and National Football League to provide “equitable” contributions to the renovation along with creating a plan for ongoing maintenance and improvements for the stadium during a potential new lease.
“We want to move from behind the curtains out into the public,” Reese said about the presentation. “… We have to show the people what we see as we’re seeing it.
Commissioners were shown renderings of a renovation to update the stadium, including multiple new clubs and open rooms including bars, along with adding 26 acres of greenspace.
Attorney Tom Gabelman told the board that the stadium needs $493 million in repairs and capital improvements along with the club level improvements.
Reese said that she had initial conversation with Gov. Mike DeWine’s staff about the state contributing taxpayer funds to the project.
“We can’t give everything to Cleveland and leave us with the scraps,” Reese said.
Commissioners were shown the increased costs of new and renovated stadiums across the country. That includes the $2.2 billion for a new Nissan Stadium in Nashville and a proposed $2.4 billion new stadium in Cleveland.
A graph of renovations included $1.4 billion in Jacksonville and $1.2 billion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Hmm, I wonder if the rising costs have anything to do with all the taxpayer money that is being funneled into them,” Taxpayer Protection Alliance Senior Analyst Juan Londono wrote on X.com in response to the charts. “Price of a good exploding after it gets publicly subsidized? Never heard of that before.”
