Sunday, December 8, 1996
Bengals stadium shows off skyline
Latest drawings put fans close to action

BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The most current Bengals stadium drawings display close-to-the-action sight lines - even from upper-level luxury boxes - and low-tiered end zones that allow fans to glimpse the Ohio River and the city skyline.

The drawings, obtained Saturday by The Enquirer, were prepared for the Bengals by stadium architect NBBJ Sports & Entertainment for the team's premium seat marketing campaign, which kicks off Dec. 16.

The drawings show two potential scoreboards - a conventional design and what Don Schumacher called the ''George Jetson'' version shaped like the flame of a torch. Mr. Schumacher is marketing seat licenses - one-time fees for the right to purchase season tickets - for the new stadium.

The latest drawings do not include a canopy over the top seats, an idea county officials say they are still kicking around for the estimated $180 million project.

''They're on the right track. It shows a stadium can be both functional and attractive,'' said Hamilton County Administrator David Krings, who is overseeing stadium development. He said he saw the drawings for the first time Saturday.

The drawings are a refinement of preliminary designs that NBBJ produced to win Hamilton County's award of the architectural contract. Those preliminary designs, more than 2 months old, were published Saturday in the Cincinnati Post.

The Bengals issued a disclaimer of the preliminary work: ''The photos published today in the Cincinnati Post are of an initial exterior stadium design that has since been refined.''

Club level end zone view shows more conventional scoreboard.

The team reiterated that a design - including details of seating inside the bowl and other stadium elements - will be presented Dec. 16 at a news conference.

The designs ''were used in our preliminary presentation to the county,'' said Michael Hallmark, an NBBJ principal in Los Angeles.

''We have not even truly begun schematic design plans yet,'' he said. ''We have only done conceptual design work to the point that the Bengals can develop a marketing plan for premium seating.''

NBBJ hopes to make Cincinnati a breakthrough project for the NFL, much like Baltimore's retro-style Camden Yards was for major-league baseball. This is the firm's first NFL stadium; its principals designed NBA arenas in Boston, Phoenix, Seattle and Cleveland.

The county and NBBJ are negotiating a contract and are expected to reach an agreement this month.

Some design elements have emerged, however, as desired by both the Bengals and the county.

The four ''corners'' of the oval stadium will be open but for a single tier of seats. Except for the corner containing the scoreboard, that will allow views of the surrounding area.

''It's a design criterion we all agree on,'' County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus said. ''We want to make sure you feel like you're in Cincinnati even when you're inside the football field.''

Upper level 40-yard line view.

The seats will number 70,000 on three levels at the sidelines, with 100 luxury boxes stacked in two tiers. The height compares to the yellow level at Cinergy Field. All luxury suites and 7,500 club seats are planned for the sidelines.

A canopy, which would keep fans dry, might also serve as a screen for projection of advertisements, Mr. Bedinghaus said. But, again, that is preliminary.

The team and the county, along with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, will present final inside-the-bowl designs as they start their premium-seat campaign next week. The campaign will decide whether there are enough individuals and corporations in Cincinnati willing to support a new stadium. If it fails by April 30, the stadium deal is off.

The county must sell $20 million in seat licenses; the Bengals must negotiate 10-year leases on at least 80 of the luxury boxes, at an annual average cost of $65,000; another 6,000 fans must be persuaded to pay close to $1,000 a year for 10 years for club seats.

At the same time, a Pittsburgh firm, Urban Design Associates (UDA), is working on stadium-site recommendations for the Bengals and the Reds. The Bengals stadium most likely will be along the riverfront; the Reds stadium might also sit on the river, or UDA might recommend a site 12 blocks north known as Broadway Commons.

UDA's next interim report to county and city officials is Dec. 19.

Together, the stadiums, land and associated costs are expected to total $544 million. The projects are largely funded by a half-cent sales tax that voters approved in March, estimated to raise almost $54 million in 1997. Of that, 70 percent goes for stadiums.

AUDITOR CONSIDERED FOR PAUL BROWN STADIUM PROJECT
June 3, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures

Hamilton county is considering hiring an independent construction auditor to keep tabs on the building of Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals and a new ballpark for the Reds. The Bengals' stadium is already under construction and the Reds' ballpark is scheduled to begin construction next year. The idea came up after media criticism of some contracts let for the Bengals' project. Auditing is supposed to be the responsibility of the construction manager, but county officials think an outside eye might be worthwhile.

Tuesday, December 17, 1996
Stadium reaction: It's a winner
Bengals impress local businesses, NFL chief

BY GEOFF HOBSON and ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

This view of the stadium model, from the corner of the end zone, shows a scoreboard and three levels of seating along the sides. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

Calling the Bengals' new 66,500-seat stadium an innovative design, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Monday he expects the facility to help the club reach its sales goals and keep the franchise in Cincinnati.

Mr. Tagliabue, in town to help Bengals President Mike Brown launch the stadium's ticket campaign, applauded the seating bowl model unveiled Monday by architects NBBJ Sports and Entertainment of Los Angeles.

''Sooner or later, someone was going to reach out for a tailor-made and innovative design,'' Mr. Tagliabue told The Enquirer before a Spinney Field press conference.

Although the stadium has yet to have a home, Mr. Tagliabue could see why the Bengals want the stadium on the riverfront.

''The contours are different than the more traditional design,'' Mr. Tagliabue said. ''The flow to it, it almost feels like you're flowing next to a river.''

Mr. Tagliabue referred to the elimination of corner and end-zone seating that opens the stadium to a view instead of the traditional bowl at Cinergy Field.

The seating plan calls for 70 percent of the 66,500 seats along the sideline (only Buffalo has that many) and about 45,000 below the upper deck (most in the NFL).

The design also concentrates 70 percent of the fans on both sidelines in three tiers of seats. Only Buffalo's Rich Stadium has that many sideline seats.

NBBJ principal architect Ron Turner said the preliminary design for the Bengals' stadium has about 45,000 seats below the upper deck, most in any existing NFL stadium.

''Most season ticket holders will be able to get closer to the 50-yard-line because of the simple math,'' said Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus.

There are 27,300 seats in the lower bowl, 21,500 in the upper bowl, 104 luxury suites and 7,500 to 8,000 club seats. Remaining seats are mostly in the end zones. The corners of the end zones are cut away, ridding the stadium of many of the worst seats.

Mr. Turner said end zone seating could feature a Cincinnati version of Cleveland's Dawg Pound, once home of the Browns' most fanatical rooters.

He stressed the designs are preliminary and as many as 4,000 seats could be added. Such props as overhangs and ''George Jetson'' scoreboards at both ends of the field could be changed. Designs also depend on where the stadium is located.

The upper level would hold 21,500 seats and be sloped at 31 degrees, less than the 33-degree slope of the upper deck at Cinergy Field. There would be 104 upper-level and mid-level suites (shaded brown and green) with seating for 1,254. The club level (shaded yellow) would have 7,500-8,000 seats. The lower level (shaded blue) would hold 27,300 seats.

Because the field is oblong instead of round, more of the sideline seats are closer to the action. The top-most seats are 8 to 10 feet above the upper seats in Cinergy Field, Mr. Turner said.

The Bengals won't know how this non-bowl, 21st-century plan will go over with the fans until seat licenses go on sale Wednesday morning. The campaign for selling seat licenses, one-time fees to have the privilege of buying season tickets, is announced this morning.

If Hamilton County can't sell $20 million worth of the seat licenses by April 30 at a $500 average, the county can renegotiate the deal.

Mr. Tagliabue continues to shoot down the idea that Mr. Brown would move the club to Cleveland, which has a lease with the NFL for a new stadium that has already sold 93 private suites.

''The feeling here is the Bengals have been a great tradition for three decades and the team should stay here. And I think this agreement that has been reached has realistic conditions that can be met in this community,'' Mr. Tagliabue said.

Mr. Tagliabue moved from the Bengals' utilitarian practice facility to the posh Queen City Club on Monday evening to sell Cincinnati's corporate community on the stadium's other key element, private suites ranging from $40,000 to $100,000, according to the proximity to the 50-yard line.

The deal can also snag if the Bengals don't sell 80 percent of the 104 suites.

The architect said the design's people-friendly exterior would encourage nearby entertainment and restaurants.

Mr. Brown, Mr. Bedinghaus, and Bengals head coach Bruce Coslet delivered persuasive arguments, according to Michael Baumgardner, president of Burke Inc.

''Personally, coming in I didn't think they could sell them,'' he said. ''They're very impressive. ... We're considering buying one.''

''They're going to be beautiful. They're impressive,'' said Bunny Meisel, president of Globe Furniture. ''We're talking about it.''

David Lindner, director of marketing for United Dairy Farmers, said he thought the presentation was ''very impressive'' and that the idea of buying after the presentation was ''a lot more appealing.''

At end of the day Monday, Mr. Brown said he was satisfied with the launch of the sales campaign.

''It went well. We got our story out to all kinds of people, and everyone seemed to listen with an open mind. And I have a feeling they are behind us,'' he said.

Mr. Tagliabue said the Bengals have to focus on expanding their market, like Kansas City and Buffalo have.

''They're the models in our league, and teams like the Bengals will no doubt take a page out of their book. Places like Dayton and Northern Kentucky are very important,'' he said.

To underscore regionalism, Mr. Tagliabue visits business leaders in Lexington, Ky., this morning in an event hosted by nearby Georgetown College, site of the Bengals' new training camp.

Reporter William A. Weathers contributed.

Friday, December 20, 1996
Three visions floated for stadiums
Consultants conclude riverfront best for Bengals

BY ANNE MICHAUD
and LAURA GOLDBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer

'BIG BANG' SCENARIO Both stadiums on the riverfront with an entertainment district.

A consultant on Thursday described for city and county officials three scenarios for locating stadiums that portend very different size dreams for the future of the region.

The first scenario, the so-called Big Bang, could lift Cincinnati into a first-tier tourism city even though it is small, on par with San Antonio.

The second, called Cincinnati Nameplate, would give the city a signature skyline or gateway. But a riverfront entertainment district would develop slowly, if at all.

The third scenario, Baseball at Broadway Commons, would revitalize Over-the-Rhine, a neighborhood that is pulling itself up by its brew pubs and live music.

The three scenarios revolve around a baseball stadium site. That decision kicks off a series of commitments to the region's future.

Officials said Thursday that they need more information before making a decision - especially about cost and timing - and have invited the consultant, Urban Design Associates (UDA) of Pittsburgh, back on Jan. 16.

What did become clear is that there is very little question where the Bengals' new football stadium should be built. UDA said that a football stadium should be placed far west on the riverfront, nearly abutting the Interstate 75 and 71 bridge.

'CINCINNATI NAMEPLATE' SCENARIO Baseball stadium moved east, built on site of Riverfront Coliseum.

''We're pleased they have us down on the river,'' said Bengals General Manager Mike Brown, who had been pushing for a site a little to the east, next to the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

''We meet with (UDA today), and we want to find out how parking and pedestrian traffic is affected by how far west of the bridge it is,'' Mr. Brown said.

The consultant's top recommendation was a football stadium south of Pete Rose Way and between Central Avenue and Elm Street. The consultant showed three scenarios.

Slight shifts in location represent potential problems with land acquisition and agreement with the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) over Plum Street and Elm Street access to a newly rebuilt Fort Washington Way.

Hamilton County commission President Bob Bedinghaus said he believes the exact football site can be decided within days.

''With minor tweaking from OKI, we could get what we need for football,'' he said.

'BASEBALL AT BROADWAY' SCENARIO Baseball stadium built at Broadway Commons.

The Bengals have begun selling seats in their new stadium, which lacks a location. Contract negotiations with Bengals stadium architect, NBBJ Sports & Entertainment, can progress only to a point until the project cost is determined, which is nearly impossible without a site. Nor can NBBJ design a stadium exterior.

UDA also said Cincinnati should fix three urban design mistakes that have been made on the riverfront. The city should narrow Fort Washington Way to one-third its width, build a continuous waterfront park and develop public transportation, be it light rail or a shuttle.

Ideally, the transport would connect both sides of the river, north to the University of Cincinnati area.

The UDA analysis presented Thursday was a step toward narrowing the stadium sites, though it still has large holes, city and county officials said. Most questions have to do with cost - how much is the land for each option, what expense is involved in developing each site, when can the sites be ready.

''Very clearly, there is still a need for a lot more analysis,'' said Mayor Roxanne Qualls.

The consultant laid out three options for a baseball stadium site.

The Big Bang UDA calls this first option the Big Bang because it could turn Cincinnati into a top tourism destination, on par with a city like San Antonio. It's small, it's not a first-tier city, but it is one of the most frequently visited cities in the the United States, said a UDA principal.

It would place the football stadium on the western edge of the central riverfront and the Reds stadium where Cinergy Field now sits.

In addition, public officials would have to commit to finding four non-
profit attractions that could fit between the two stadiums, be it an aquarium, an Underground Railroad Museum, an IMAX theater or a Reds Hall of Fame.

The four attractions would come at a price of $220 million, UDA said. UDA can recommend sources such as federal and foundation grants for all but $50 million, they said, but that $50 million would rest with local governments - and taxpayers.

Together, the stadiums and non-profit attractions would bring in 6 million visitors a year, which, according to UDA's economic consultant Don Zuchelli, is adequate for private investment to begin. That would mean a multiplex cinema, restaurants, arcades and more.

Ms. Qualls said it is ''very nice'' to talk about an urban entertainment center, but she wondered about the rest of downtown.

She questioned whether the four non-profit attractions could get done over the next five or seven years and what happens to the economic impact if they don't.

Mr. Bedinghaus stressed there is ''zero commitment'' on the part of the city or the county to subsidize an urban entertain district.

Rebuilding baseball on the Cinergy Field site would mean that the Reds would have to play in the Bengals new stadium for up to three seasons.

Cincinnati Nameplate This option would place the Reds at the current site of Riverfront Coliseum. The Coliseum could be demolished and a Reds stadium built even while the team continued to play at Cinergy Field.

Both this and the Big Bang option involve extending the city grid of streets from downtown to the riverfront, which can be very expensive to do on a floodplain.

The nameplate option provides flexibility in development. It does not assume more public investment, but the payoff in private investment is likely much smaller, the consultant said.

It leaves open the option of developing an urban entertainment district at some time in the future.

Baseball at Broadway This option would boost nascent development in Over-the-Rhine, including businesses and housing. It could revitalize this neighborhood, and at the same time capitalize on the existing entertainment district developing along Main Street.

As UDA pointed out, it would please advocates, who are growing by the week. Last week, the local chapter of professional architects endorsed this site.

Jim Tarbell, a local restaurateur, said the recommendation was a vindication of the site. He was particularly encouraged by UDA's judgment that parking could be made adequate and that the economic benefits would be immediate.

''That's what we've been saying all along,'' Mr. Tarbell said after the meeting. ''They did their homework ... I've said from the beginning, the more you hear from Broadway, the better it gets.''

The downside is that this option would draw baseball fans away from the riverfront, the consultant said. Also, it would rule out the grand plan of an urban economic district.

One of the most startling conclusions was that the stadiums themselves would generate only $2 million to $3 million in additional economic impact, according to UDA.

''The reason that the economic impact of two new stadiums is not that great is that you already have them,'' UDA's Mr. Carter said. ''If you were starting from a zero base, the impact would be phenomenal.''

Mr. Bedinghaus said much work remains to be done, and though he had hoped for a site decision for both stadiums by year's end, ''I'd rather take time and make sure sure it gets done right.''

He said both teams want the site immediately adjacent west of the Roebling suspension bridge and that neither team will likely end up with the site they absolutely wanted most.

Reds managing executive John Allen said after the meeting, ''It's important that two-thirds of their selectons are on the riverfront, where we have indicated we'd like to be. Wherever we end up, it has to be in a place that gives the Reds stadium immediate recognition.''

Geoff Hobson contributed to this report.

February 21, 1997 - The Cincinnati Bengals are close to reaching a goal of selling 6,000 club seats by April 30 to assure construction of the new stadium.

BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals declared themselves king of a new Jungle on Thursday, three blocks west of their Cinergy Field home on the riverfront.

The football club agreed with Hamilton County to place the new, $180 million stadium on the western fringe of the riverfront, between Central Avenue and Elm Street. The deal included one surprise: football practice fields next to the new facility.

''This is a big step,'' said Bengals General Manager Mike Brown. ''It makes concrete our project in a real way to me. We now know we will be on the riverfront, and that was our goal all along.''

In addition to finding a home for the Bengals, Hamilton County officials boldly seized control of Cincinnati's future riverfront. They announced they would acquire almost all land from the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge to the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, bounded to the north by Pearl Street (one block north of Pete Rose Way) and to the south by the Ohio River.

The purchase will consolidate land now broken up among 15 private owners and two governments, city and county.

It leads the way to a public park stretching along the water's edge, a million Underground Railroad museum and other attractions, as well as the Bengals stadium.

''The living room of the city of Cincinnati is opened up,'' said Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls.

County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, leader of stadium development, said the land-taking initiative was simpler if done at once.

''It's more efficient,'' he said. ''We've got to deal with everybody (landowners) anyway.''

The county will try to relocate about eight produce companies now on the site and will negotiate with other companies to buy their land.

Mr. Bedinghaus said parks planning will be turned over to the city. ''It's not our goal to be developing things other than stadiums,'' he said.

The next logical question is, where does the Reds' proposed stadium fit in?

Marge Schott, principal owner of the Reds, threatened Thursday night to move the Reds out of town - possibly to Northern Kentucky - if the county tries to build the Reds ballpark at a proposed uptown Broadway Commons site.

''The taxpayers voted for us to be on the river,'' Mrs. Schott said. ''And that's where we want to be.''

But urban planners say crowding the central riverfront with stadiums would be a mistake.

''By moving (the Bengals) to the west,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said, ''the purpose was not to make more room for a baseball field there. I don't think you'll find the city or the county supporting that.''

Remaining Reds sites are northeast of Cinergy Field, at the Cinergy Field site itself, at Broadway Commons and in place of Riverfront Coliseum.

The Coliseum changed hands earlier this week and is scheduled for a $14 million makeover by October.

For football, ''it's full speed ahead now'' to complete the stadium design in nine or 10 months, said Ron Turner of NBBJ Sports and Entertainment, the stadium architects from Los Angeles.

He described a richly landscaped walkway along the Race Street/Elm Street corridor, leading to the stadium and connecting downtown with the riverfront.

The southeast corner of the stadium will be open to the river, Mr. Turner said, with terraced steps leading to the water.

Thursday's developments heralded unprecedented cooperation among city and county officials, several said.

Mayor Qualls called it ''a day of great success'' for the county, which took on stadium development after taxpayers approved a half-cent sales tax increase last March. The tax will raise more than $35 million a year for Reds and Bengals stadiums.

Such governmental cooperation will smooth the Bengals' path to a stadium ready for the 2000 football season, said County Commissioner Guy Guckenberger. ''What is really significant about this is, with everybody on board, it ensures deadlines are going to be met,'' he said.

County officials expect construction to begin in early 1998. Land acquisition may take six to nine months.

The deal required compromise on the Bengals' part. Mr. Brown said he had preferred a site one block to the east, because it is closer to downtown. But the county and city pushed for the westernmost site.

''The primary motive for us to go to the west is we thought the community would be best served by that,'' Mr. Brown said.

Troy Blackburn, Bengals director of stadium development and Mr. Brown's son-in-law, said the site selection will propel sales of luxury suites and club seats in the new stadium.

''We can start presenting fans some clear indication of what the stadium is going to look like, feel like, be like,'' Mr. Blackburn said in an interview.

At the last official count, the Bengals had sold 60 of 104 luxury suites. They have not said a word about the 7,500 club seats. The team must sell 80 percent of each by April 30 or the preliminary lease agreement is broken. The county has already sold more than $20 million worth of seat licenses, or Charter Ownership Agreements, which are $300-$1,500 payments for the right to buy season tickets.

Eventually, the team must also sell 50,000 season tickets for the 2000 football season, per agreement.

The county and Bengals are working toward a June 30 deadline to sign a final lease.

County Administrator David Krings said the site selection takes care of some issues that were on the negotiating table.

The Bengals and the county had been working toward including a practice field next to the football stadium, but it was never a certainty. The preliminary lease agreement, signed in September, provides for a new practice field or for the county to pay up to $9.8 million to improve Spinney Field, the Bengals' current headquarters in Lower Price Hill.

Spinney Field may be offered as a new headquarters for the Castellini Co., the largest produce concern on the riverfront, two sources confirmed Thursday.

The land taking announced by county commissioners includes the bulk of Robert Castellini's holdings on the riverfront, if not all. Mr. Castellini had been working with Cleveland developer Albert Ratner to create a complex of apartments, offices, shops and a marina.

Where Thursday's announcements leave the Castellini-Ratner proposal is unclear, said a Castellini spokesman, Joe Bride.

''We don't fully comprehend what has been proposed and what its impact will be,'' Mr. Bride said. ''We're going to sit down with the county and city and understand the plan and its effect on us.''

Q & A

Q: What decisions were announced Thursday?

A: The Bengals' new home is between Central Avenue and Elm Street on the riverfront. The team's practice field will be built adjacent to it, to the west. The county began land-taking proceedings on most riverfront land between the Clay Wade Bailey and John A. Roebling Suspension bridges.

Q: When will the county break ground for the Bengals stadium?

A: Early 1998. Architects need nine or 10 months to complete designs. The county needs six to nine months to acquire the land. Q: What will the riverfront land be used for?

A: A waterfront park, connecting the western riverfront to Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point. An Underground Railroad museum. Parking. Possibly other attractions. Not a Reds stadium, county officials said.

Q: Why did the Bengals get their site first?

A: The county was under pressure to honor a Bengals lease that promises a new stadium by 2000. The Reds' lease at Cinergy Field does not expire until 2010.

Q: What will happen to the businesses that are now on the riverfront?

A: The city is working to relocate the roughly eight produce businesses there. Others - including Skyline Chili, the Old Spaghetti Factory, the Second Street Saloon, Caddy's and Flanagan's Landing - are in the way of the wrecking ball. Whether they will be relocated is in question.

Q: Where will the new Reds stadium go?

A: Possibilities include a site northeast of Cinergy Field and northwest of the Coliseum, as well as Broadway Commons, at Broadway Street and Reading Road.

BY LUCY MAY
and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Hamilton County commissioners and the Cincinnati Bengals closed in on a lease for a new stadium costing about $270 million, sources said Wednesday night.

The sides met late Wednesday to smooth details and hoped to announce an agreement as soon as this afternoon. The commissioners called a meeting for 11 a.m. today, where their approval of the lease would set up a news conference announcing the Bengals are in Cincinnati until 2026.

While the three commissioners finished an executive session Wednesday at about 8 p.m. by splitting a large bag of pretzels, county administrator and lead negotiator David J. Krings met with the Bengals.

"From what I've seen, we have accomplished our goal of trying to be on the leading edge of the next generation of football - soccer facilities," Hamilton County commission President Bob Bedinghaus said earlier Wednesday.

A lease must be signed by Sunday or the half-cent sales tax increase is repealed. Officials hope ground breaks in January.

"It's been a long road. I can't remember how long it's been," said Bengals President Mike Brown of the 14-month long negotiations. "We hope it's (today)."

One of the key elements of the lease discussions was whether to include a canopy over some seats. Initially, stadium architects proposed high-tech canopies that the team could project images onto. But the technology doesn't exist yet to make that work, a county source said. Instead, canopies that will be included would function more like a fancy awning to keep rain and snow off fans.

Also in the lease is provision for reimbursement to the Bengals if the stadium isn't ready for the 2000 season. A source said the club would be paid $4 million by the construction manager, not the county, for each game not played in the new stadium.

County Commissioner John S. Dowlin, a critic of the project, said he'll vote for the lease even though he's uncomfortable with the cost. He said negotiations have consisted of give-and-take on design elements.

"The number will be higher than I like," Mr. Dowlin said. "But it seems pretty comparable with what other stadiums have been. . . . It depends on which side you're on, but there has been too much give and not enough take."

Mr. Bedinghaus said the "guaranteed maximum price" of the stadium could be higher or lower than the price the county and team agree to in their lease.

The county's construction manager will negotiate that price, which would include every detail of construction. If the price is higher, the lease will spell out a process by which the team and county will resolve the price difference, Mr. Bedinghaus said. Earlier this month, Hamilton County public works Director Gary VanHart said the county set a $240 million goal for the project. At that time, the team was $48 million above the goal.

But negotiators for the team and county have worked to reduce the cost of the stadium for the past several weeks, Mr. VanHart said. The $240 million figure included the cost of the stadium, parking and stadium plaza. It did not include land acquisition, design fees or the cost of moving utility lines on the site.

The estimated $270 million price is higher than other stadium projects around the country for a variety of reasons.

Earlier this month, Cleveland officials announced their city's new football stadium will cost $247 million, and the facility opening in 1999 is already on city-owned land.

But Cincinnati's stadium requires flood protection because of its riverfront location that Cleveland's stadium won't need, Mr. Bedinghaus said.

"If you add $8 million to $10 million to $11 million for flood protection, that's what it would cost to build Cleveland's stadium in Cincinnati," he said.

Mr. Bedinghaus also said the fact Cincinnati is starting up a year later accounts for some increased costs, as does the stadium design pushing 70 percent of the seats to the sidelines.

"Our innovative design is a reacauses a little added expense in elevators and up-and-down transportation because effectively you're building two different buildings as opposed to one you circulate all the way around."

Cincinnati's football stadium also will be more expensive than recently completed stadiums in Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa. But those cities have the advantage of a 12-month construction season, Mr. Bedinghaus said, and they don't have to pay prevailing wage, a union wage that is significantly higher than non-union rates.

"Frankly, that's a cost difference that is factored into every public project in Ohio," Mr. Bedinghaus said. "And 20 percent is $40 million."

Mr. Bedinghaus said there should be no fear the county has run out of money to also fund a new Reds' ballpark.

"We are well within our budget goals," Mr. Bedinghaus said. "Our analysis and planning took into account there would be two stadiums."

The financial elements of the lease are expected to mirror the financial agreements reached in September when the county and team signed a "memorandum of understanding."

In the September agreement, the Bengals agreed to contribute more than $44 million to the stadium project.

More than half of that contribution - $26 million - will come from the sale of "charter ownership agreements" (COAs). The COAs, which are also called seat licenses, are one-time fees that give fans the right to buy season tickets.

The team pays $11.7 million in rent over nine years of their lease. The Bengals will pay no rent for the last 16 years of the agreement, according to the September document.

The team is guaranteed more than $29.4 million in "non-football" revenues during the last nine years of the lease, according to the September agreement. During those years, the county promises the Bengals a minimum amount of money from the use of the stadium for other events.

County officials already have begun acquiring the land needed for the stadium, which will sit between Mehring Way and Third Street, roughly between Central Avenue and Elm Street.

Saturday, January 31, 1998
Chronology
1996
* March 19: Hamilton County voters approve a half-cent sales-tax increase to fund stadium construction for the Bengals and Reds and provide property-tax relief.

* Aug. 9: John Allen is named managing executive of the Reds for the remainder of Reds CEO Marge Schott's suspension.

* Sept. 10: Hamilton County and Bengals announce agreement to build a stadium by Aug. 1, 2000. The agreement sets in motion finding an architect, assigns revenues and responsibilities but doesn't name a location.

* Dec. 11: Mr. Allen says keeping the Reds in renovated Cinergy Field would be like giving fans ''a used car.''

1997
* Feb. 13: Hamilton County and Bengals announce new stadium will be on the riverfront between Central Avenue and Elm Street with practice fields just west of the stadium.

* May 1: Cincinnati and Hamilton County reach agreement on the refined site for the Bengals stadium, calming city concerns that the stadium and plaza would consume most of the central riverfront.

* May 29: Hamilton County and Bengals sign a lease to build Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront and keep the team in town until 2026.

* July 3: Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls rips Hamilton County's lease with the Bengals, saying the county gave away the city's riverfront.

* July 29: Reds have posted estimated operating losses of an estimated $59.2 million since 1990, biggest loss of any major league baseball, football, basketball or hockey team.

* Aug. 28: County Commissioner John Dowlin asks National League President Leonard S. Coleman Jr. to intervene in the county's stadium negotiations with the Reds. He declines.

* Sept. 4: Hamilton County officials tell bond-rating agencies in New York they expect to spend $400.3 million to build the Bengals stadium complex. That price includes land, demolition and other costs that had not been included in previous estimates.

* Sept. 10: Indiana & Ohio Railroad lays claim to riverfront railroad tracks that run through the site of the Bengals stadium complex.

* Sept. 23: City Manager John Shirey urges city council not to transfer 12.5 acres of riverfront property the county needs for the stadium until the city and county reach a riverfront development deal.

* Sept. 24: City Council endorses a ballpark at Broadway Commons, at Broadway and Reading Road.

* Oct. 6: Reds Managing Executive John Allen announces Reds will consider offers to locate elsewhere in Greater Cincinnati.

* Nov. 9: Reds CEO Marge Schott says she'll consider keeping team in a renovated Cinergy Field.

* Nov. 26: Hamilton County agrees to pay about $36 million for 24 acres of riverfront land owned by the Castellini Family Trust, the largest private landowner on the riverfront.

* Dec. 2: Striving to resolve a series of issues in one fell swoop, City Manager John Shirey proposes a detailed city-county agreement for developing the city's central riverfront and the new Bengals stadium.

* Dec. 26: Bengals President Mike Brown accuses the city of not living up to its word and defends his stadium deal with county in a letter sent to business leaders and elected officials.

* Dec. 29: Mr. Brown says if city and county don't resolve their differences by Jan. 31, he'll kill the stadium deal.

* Dec. 30: Reds Managing Executive John Allen says the team is focusing on a plan to transform Cinergy Field in its talks with Hamilton County.

1998
* Jan. 6: Hamilton County commissioners decide to issue more than $71 million in bonds for the $400.3 million Bengals stadium project.

* Jan. 6: Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White says Cleveland wants an expansion team to play in the city's new stadium, not the Bengals, if the Cincinnati stadium deal collapses.

* Jan. 7: County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus says he favors a riverfront site for a Reds stadium and expects the county to have a deal with the Reds for a new ballpark by Opening Day.

* Jan. 16: City Manager John Shirey says the Bengals' Jan. 31 stadium deadline doesn't apply to the city, although he thinks the city and county will make the deadline.

* Jan. 22: Negotiations between Cincinnati and Hamilton County go into tailspin after City Manager John Shirey presents council with a riverfront development deal the county says it hadn't agreed to.

* Jan. 29: A marathon meeting at the offices of Kroger Co. Chairman and CEO Joseph A. Pichler between the city, county and team results in consensus on major issues.

* Jan. 30: Negotiators for county, city and Bengals reach agreement in principle on deal to transfer city property.

- Lucy May

Sunday, February 1, 1998
Stadium deal passes in overtime
More disputes delay approval till early Sunday

BY LAURA GOLDBERG,
GEOFF HOBSON and LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati City Council approved a deal with Hamilton County at 1:15 a.m. today for a Bengals stadium, about 75 minutes after county commissioners passed the agreement.

Commissioners barely beat Saturday's midnight deadline to approve the agreement to permit the Bengals stadium to proceed and define who's in charge of fashioning a new riverfront in the next millennium. But city council didn't move quite as fast.

''The conflict should be behind us now, and soon we should have concrete evidence springing out of the ground,'' Bengals President Mike Brown said in a statement released after the vote.

County Administrator David Krings began briefing commissioners on the deal around 11:30 p.m., while city officials rushed into City Hall to start making photocopies of the agreement minutes later.

At 11:53 p.m., City Councilman Todd Portune turned back the City Hall clock to 11 p.m. But even using City Hall time, the deal didn't come until well after midnight.

After the vote, Mayor Roxanne Qualls said: ''This agreement moves forward the community's vision for downtown and the riverfront. It will put in place the necessary infrastructure to ensure the redevelopment of Cincinnati's riverfront.''

County Commissioners Tom Neyer Jr. and Bob Bedinghaus voted at 11:57 p.m. to approve a lease amendment with the Bengals, a redevelopment agreement with the city and deal to buy out a railroad lease.

''In the celebration of this event, we should take time to sit back and analyze this experience,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said. ''There has to be a better way to do business in this community.''

City Manager John Shirey began briefing council around 12:15 a.m. this morning. At 1:15, council voted 8-0 in favor of the deal. Councilman Phil Heimlich was recovering from surgery and could not attend the meeting.

Mr. Brown had declared victory even before council voted.

''I'm very pleased that we finally got to this point. It isn't done yet,'' he said just after midnight, ''but I think it will be done before too much longer.''

''I'm grateful to a lot of people who got involved to get this thing done,'' he said, adding with a chuckle, ''We're not going to run off before the sun comes up.''

Mr. Brown had warned that if the matter wasn't settled by midnight, he would nullify a lease signed in May with the county to build a $400.3 million stadium complex by August 2000.

Elected officials waited all day Saturday in frustration - and sometimes anger - as administrative staffs and lawyers worked feverishly to iron out wrinkles in an agreement that appeared to have been a done deal Friday.

But the day's events Saturday showed there was nothing simple in reducing months of discussions between parties who often didn't trust one another to 34 pages of documents that could be voted on. Negotiators reached a deal at 10:49 p.m.

Mr. Neyer and Mr. Bedinghaus started tossing a football in county offices to celebrate.

The deal came down to the wire after city officials said the county and Bengals had at the last minute proposed more than 300 changes to the tentative agreement reached Friday and raised several new issues.

But Mr. Bedinghaus said the county's changes were minor issues of legal language, not new issues.

''It's like the sheriff in Blazing Saddles who says to the posse, 'If you don't do it my way, I'll shoot myself,' '' Mr. Bedinghaus said earlier Saturday evening. ''Similarly, the city runs the same risk over riverfront development about these minor issues.''

The last-minute delays came a day after Mr. Neyer announced that the city, county and team had reached an agreement in principle that would allow construction of the Bengals stadium to proceed, keep the team in town and provide a platform for a family entertainment district on the city's riverfront.

The deal required the city to transfer 12.5 acres of city-controlled land the county needs for stadium construction.

Following Mr. Neyer's comments Friday, four council members held a news conference to say a majority of council supported the tentative agreement.

Officials said the only thing left was for city, county and team lawyers to sign off on final language.

But by Saturday afternoon, matters had come unglued.

During a 4 p.m. council meeting, Mr. Shirey said he thought agreement had been reached on all substantive matters. He explained a series of events leading to that meeting, at which he expected council would OK the deal.

The city on Friday, he said, had sent drafts of sections of the agreement to the county and did not hear back on most of them. By 7:30 p.m., he said, the draft was complete and given to the county.

About 1 a.m. Saturday, county comments began coming in. By early afternoon, Mr. Shirey said, more than 300 changes had been raised. Most were minor, such as the capitalization of a word, while others were major, such as how the city would be allowed to develop the central riverfront and parking matters.

Negotiators, Mr. Shirey said, went from working on a 13- or 14-page agreement to one that was 35 pages.

''I'm sure it was easier for the Founding Fathers to put together a document creating the nation, but somehow we've not been able to get this one completed leading to the development of the riverfront,'' he said.

A 2 p.m. meeting during which commissioners were supposed to approve the agreement lasted only a couple of minutes.

At 3:20 p.m., Mr. Shirey said: ''Apparently some people are not in as big a hurry as they thought they were.''

He added that ''people on the other side apparently want to raise new issues'' and take a long time to resolve them.

But Mr. Bedinghaus said the county didn't raise any new issues or suggest any major changes. City officials were aware of all the minor, technical differences in language on Friday, he said.

While the lease doesn't specifically refer to transfer of the city land, it required the county to have a ''guaranteed maximum price'' by Saturday.

County officials say their construction manager can't guarantee a price until the county has the land, because it affects the construction schedule and overtime costs, among other factors.

Mr. Shirey said the Bengals and the county could amend the lease to move that date. Mr. Brown declined to comment on that.

''The truth of the matter is really nothing need happen if it doesn't get done by midnight,'' Mr. Shirey said earlier in the day, adding that the Bengals know the deal gives them 99.9 percent of what they wanted and he believes the team wants to stay here.

When asked then whether she thought the team would leave if the deadline passed, Mayor Roxanne Qualls said: ''We don't deal with what-ifs. We just deal with what is.''

She said the county's changes make matters difficult.

Said Councilman Tyrone Yates: ''This is the silliest thing - being dangled on a string by a football team.''

Saturday's developments were reminiscent of the June 1995 city-county deal that paved the way for a sales tax increase to pay for Bengals and Reds stadiums.

Moments before midnight then, city council - by a 5-4 vote - approved an agreement with Hamilton County that set the stage for new stadiums along the city's riverfront for the Bengals and the Reds. The vote came after 13 hours of negotiations and gloomy predictions that a deal had collapsed.

That, too, came in the face of an ultimatum from Mr. Brown: Forge a deal by a certain date or the team would begin exclusive relocation negotiations with Baltimore the next day.

Tanya Albert contributed to this report.

BENGALS SUITE, CLUB SEAT SALES STRONG
August 5, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures

The Cincinnati Bengals have sold 92 of the 114 luxury suites planned for the team's new stadium that opens in 2002 along with more than 6,500 of the 7,620 club seats. The suites are leasing for $45,000 to $134,000 on 6- to 12-year leases. The club seats sell for $995 to $19,995 on the same term.

The team had set a goal of selling $10.8 million in club seat and luxury suite leases to help fund the more than $44 million it will pay toward the new $404 million venue. Cincinnati has a seventiered system of PSLs, or Charter Ownership Agreements, as it calls them. They start at $300, going to $480, $600, $750, $900, $1,200 and a high of $1,500 to sit on the 50yard line. So far, 34,000 have been sold and 17,000 remain. The new stadium will seat 65,600 people.

AUDITORS TO OVERSEE CONSTRUCTION OF CINCINNATI STADIA
August 12, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures

Hamilton County has hired PriceWaterhouseCoopers to review agreements involved in the construction of the new ballpark for the Reds and may do the same for the new Bengals stadium. The company will be paid $10,000 to examine existing agreements being negotiated with architect HOK and the construction manager, Huber Hunt & Nichols. The action is in response to criticism from the county auditor that the agreements for the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium did not include sufficient audit provisions.

BENGALS GET STADIUM MANAGEMENT CONTRACT
September 16, 1999
Copyright 1999 MediaVentures

The Cincinnati Bengals will get $58,000 to manage Paul Brown Stadium for the last half of 1999 under an interim agreement. The money will come from a half-cent sales tax approved by voters to help fund the new stadium that opens in 2000. The team will take over management of the venue once the stadium opens.

The full management agreement between the team and Hamilton County is still being negotiated.

August 17, 2000

Fans check out the seats at Paul Brown Stadium, the new home of the Bengals, which play their first game in the new stadium against Chicago.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Cincinnati Bengals expected about 20,000 people to attend an open house for the team's new home, but instead an estimated 100,000 showed up for the first public view of Paul Brown Stadium.

So many people showed up Wednesday that a second open house will be planned sometime in the next couple of weeks, said stadium spokeswoman Brooke Hill.

"People are still pouring in here," Hill said as the six-hour open house was drawing to a close about 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

The size of the crowd that jammed many downtown streets around the stadium stunned Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, who pushed for a sales tax increase to pay for new riverfront stadiums for the Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds.

"Clearly, this exceeds our expectations, several times over," Bedinghaus said. "And many of these people aren't ticket holders. This is truly a community event -- just people coming out to see what we've been talking about."

County taxpayers in 1996 approved a half-cent sales tax increase to build the new 66,500-seat stadium and the nearby baseball park. Bengals owner Mike Brown had threatened to move his team to another city if he wasn't given a new stadium.

So many people came to the Paul Brown Stadium open house Wednesday that there will be a second one in a couple of weeks. Stadium spokeswoman Brooke Hill told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the date hasn't been picked

Brown said Wednesday that he was happy that the team was able to stay in Cincinnati.

"It might have been easier to move the team, but it wouldn't have been better," Brown said. "The Bengals started here and they belong to the people of this community."

Fans seemed enthusiastic Wednesday night as they toured the $453.2 million facility.

"Cincinnati is such a conservative town, and now we have something that is so modern," Elizabeth Skillman said. "It's so futuristic."

She and her husband, William, planned to buy season tickets.

Bernard Smith, 39, also was impressed with the new stadium.

"It's like a crown jewel, man," he said. "It makes you proud to be a Cincinnatian."

* Also on Wednesday, a dispute over vendors outside Paul Brown Stadium was settled.

City officials agreed Wednesday to open new areas near the football stadium to vendors who want to sell peanuts, T-shirts, hats or other merchandise.

Cincinnati City Manager John Shirey said about 10 of the city's 30 licensed merchandise vendors were displaced because of construction surrounding the stadium. Those vendors will get first choice in the newly opened areas.

The new agreement also will open all of downtown north of Fourth Street to all vendors selling game tickets. That area previously was off-limits.

SEAT LICENSES MISS GOAL IN CINCINNATI
November 16, 2000
Copyright 2000 MediaVentures

A goal of raising $25 million from seat licenses to fund the new Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati has fallen $500,000 short of the goal. The shortage, about 2% of the total, will be made up from interest earned on bonds sold to build the venue.

The team believed it had reached its goal in 1997, but some 1,000 fans decided against completing their purchase.

BENGALS REFUSE TO TIE AD PRICES TO PERFORMANCE
October 19, 2000
Copyright 2000 MediaVentures

The Cincinnati Bengals have rejected advertisers' requests to link advertising prices to the team's performance on the field. At least three advertisers declined to put ads in the new Paul Brown Stadium because the team would not offer a performance guarantee. Cinergy Corp. and Delta Air Lines were reportedly two of the companies that sought such a guarantee. Observers say such guarantees are unprecedented. While some contracts may be based on television audiences or attendance, there are no known contracts based on a team's performance.

The companies reportedly said they would only pay the $600,000 asking price for signage, seats and broadcast time if the team guaranteed at least eight wins this season. The price would be prorated if the team won fewer games. When the Bengals rejected the offer, some companies purchased less expensive contracts.

Although the team opened a new stadium this year, it has sold out only one game so far. The team's record has also been disappointing at 1-6.

COUNTY SEEKS SETTLEMENT IN SEASON TICKET DISPUTE
November 9, 2000
Copyright 2000 MediaVentures

Hamilton County Commissioners are asking the Cincinnati Bengals and some unhappy season ticket holders to work out their differences rather than take the issue to court.

Some seat license buyers are pushing a lawsuit against the team saying it increased premium seating zones to meet demand and that pushed some buyers into inferior locations. The county entered the suit and asked the court to issue a stay in hopes the team and the fans can work out their differences. If that's not possible, the county suggests that arbitration is the better way to resolve the issue. The suit affects about 1,000 seats and asks for damages for $300 to $500 per seat license, plus legal fees.

One man involved in the suit said his seat was to be between the 35 and 20 yard lines according to the brochure he received four years ago. When the stadium opened, the seat was on the two yard line.

The team acknowledges that some minor changes were made in the seating zones, but say sections were not added and the number of seats has not changed. Team officials noted that there was a high demand for tickets and only those who had held season tickets for 25 or more years qualified for center field seats.

JUDGE UPHOLDS BENGALS' LEASE

A state judge has tossed out a citizen lawsuit against challenging Hamilton County's lease with the Bengals for the new Paul Brown Stadium. The local attorney said the county erred in giving the team too much control over construction and operation of the new stadium, but the judge said state law does not prohibit the county from delegating that work. The lawsuit called the lease a subsidy of a private business.

CINERGY FIELD PIECES SOLD

Scavengers picked over rows of Cinergy Field remnants Saturday as part of the demolition of the stadium. The company charged with razing the building set out the items and sold them to buyers who wanted a piece of the former home of the Bengals and Reds.

Seats were sold at $25 each, turf was sold for $10 and flagpoles went for $400. Another sale will be held later when the stadium is fully demolished. The current work will only reduce the size of the stadium to make room for the Reds' new Great American Ballpark that is being built next door. The Reds will play in Cinergy for two more seasons.

The Cincinnati Bengals agreed to remove a sign from the new Paul Brown Stadium this week after local officials said it was posted illegally. The banner, promoting ticket sales, did not have the proper permits. The team said it was surprised to hear about the problem now because the banner had been hanging since September.

Cincinnati Bengals Nippert Stadium 1968-1969 Cinergy Field 1969-1999 Paul Brown Stadium 2000-Present