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Bengals fans urge commissioners to agree to proposed Paycor Stadium lease terms

Bill Rinehart
/
WVXU

Several Bengals fans attended Hamilton County's Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday to share their opinions on the proposed agreement between the county and the Cincinnati Bengals for a new lease for Paycor Stadium.

The Bengals and Hamilton County agreed on a letter of intent (LOI) in late June, outlining the basic terms of a proposed 11-year lease, but haven't officially signed a lease just yet.

The county will contribute $350 million toward renovations to Paycor Stadium under the agreed-upon terms. The Bengals will contribute $120 million, for a total investment of $470 million. That includes no state funding, though the sides agreed to jointly seek state funding.

The Bengalis would pay the county $1 million in rent each year for the first three years of the lease, starting in the 2025 NFL season. At year four, the rent would double to $2 million each year.

Hamilton County says the new lease also will give the county more control over public events and activities hosted at the stadium.

Commission President Denise Driehaus and Vice President Stephanie Summerow Dumas signaled their support for the agreement, while Commissioner Alicia Reece said she wasn't satisfied with the LOI.

"Bengal Jim" Foster encouraged commissioners to take the deal, claiming the franchise and stadium were too important to the county to let a few hang-ups sideline the agreement already in motion.

"The overwhelming, silent majority of this region 100% support the deal that's in place right now," Foster said.

Other Bengals fans shared similar sentiments about the importance of the team. Only one in-person speaker, who stated he was not a Bengals fan, encouraged commissioners to attempt to get a different deal.

Commissioner Reece told the fans the LOI wasn't anything to celebrate because the Bengals had not presented county officials with a lease that would lock in the team's financial commitment.

"We can't high-five on a memorandum. Letter of intent, look it up. It's unenforceable," she said. "It's not binding, and it's not a deal."

President Driehaus pushed back against Reece's comments, arguing the LOI contained much of what Hamilton County was seeking out of the new lease, like more county control and a 75/25 financial split on stadium costs.

"We have a letter of intent that we all agreed to on some of the major terms," Driehaus said. "We're working through the rest of it, and we hope to get there with the Bengals."

In a statement released in early July, Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn thanked commissioners for supporting the agreement.

The June LOI extended the deadline to finalize a new lease to Aug. 1. Hamilton County Commissioners will hold two more meetings before then.

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Zack Carreon joined WVXU as education reporter in 2022, covering local school districts and higher education in the Tri-State area.