Bengals criticize Hamilton County prosecutor over comments on stadium negotiations
Updated: 11:13 PM EDT May 21, 2025
CHARGES. BOY, MORE DRAMA BETWEEN THE BENGALS AND HAMILTON COUNTY. THIS TIME, THE TEAM TAKING AIM AT THE NEW COUNTY PROSECUTOR, CONNIE PILLICH. THE BENGALS HAVE A LITTLE MORE THAN A MONTH NOW TO DECIDE WHETHER TO EXTEND THAT CURRENT LEASE DEAL THAT THEY HAVE WITH THE STADIUM. AND TODAY, THEY ACTUALLY HAND DELIVERED THE PROSECUTOR A VERY SHARPLY WORDED LETTER ABOUT SOME OF HER RECENT COMMENTS ABOUT THE NEGOTIATIONS. AND CHRIS JACOBS JOINS US LIVE TONIGHT FROM PAYCOR WITH THE TEAM’S STRONG MESSAGE AND THE PROSECUTOR’S RESPONSE TONIGHT. HI, CHRIS. HEY, SHEREE. YEAH. HAMILTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR CONNIE PILLICH SAYS THIS LETTER WAS HAND-DELIVERED TO HER TODAY. AND THIS ALL COMES A WEEK AFTER THE COUNTY FIRED ITS LONGTIME POINT MAN IN THESE LEASE NEGOTIATIONS WITH PAYCOR STADIUM. SO IN RECENT WEEKS, PILLICH HAS BEEN MAKING SOME COMMENTS ABOUT THE SLOW PROCESS OF WORKING OUT THIS DEAL, SAYING NEGOTIATORS HAVE BEEN, QUOTE, TREADING WATER FOR SOME TIME NOW. THE BENGALS AND THEIR LEGAL TEAM, THEY TOOK EXCEPTION TO TODAY’S LETTER SAYING IN PART, QUOTE, WE WRITE TO EXPRESS OUR SERIOUS OBJECTION, OBJECTION TO YOUR PUBLIC COMMENTS AND TO URGE YOU TO WITHDRAW SUCH COMMENTS, WHICH ARE PLAINLY FALSE. THAT LETTER WENT ON TO SAY, QUOTE, CONTRARY TO YOUR UNFOUNDED PUBLIC COMMENTS LAST WEEK, THE TEAMS CONDUCT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, IN THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, HAS SHOWN A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO NEGOTIATING A LONG-TERM DEAL WITH THE COUNTY. NOW, PILLICH DID RESPOND TODAY. IT WAS A MUCH SHORTER STATEMENT, BUT IT ALL IT SAID WAS, QUOTE, I WON’T TRADE BARBS WITH THE BENGALS. LET’S JUST GET A DEAL DONE. SO OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS HAPPENING AHEAD OF THAT JUNE 30TH DEADLINE TO GET A DEAL DONE. AND IT WAS JUST LAST MONTH THAT THE COUNTY APPROVED THAT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING, WHICH ACTUALLY PAVES THE WAY FOR RENOVATIONS TOTALING $120 MILLION COMING FROM BOTH THE BENGALS AND THE NFL. REPORTING LIVE AT PAYCO
Bengals criticize Hamilton County prosecutor over comments on stadium negotiations
Updated: 11:13 PM EDT May 21, 2025
More drama surfaced Wednesday regarding the Cincinnati Bengals’ negotiations with Hamilton County on their Paycor Stadium lease.Hamilton County prosecutor Connie Pillich received a sharply worded letter from the Bengals that criticized her comments about the negotiations.The letter was hand-delivered to Pillich and came one week after Hamilton County fired its longtime point for the lease of Paycor Stadium.In recent weeks, Pillich has commented on the slow process of getting a deal done, saying negotiators have been treading water for “quite some time.”The Bengals and the organization’s legal counsel took exception to those statements.“Despite your lack of involvement or any direct knowledge of ongoing lease discussions, you took liberties last week by making public comments regarding the Team and questioning the Team’s good faith efforts to negotiate a Comprehensive Agreement with the County. We write to express our serious objection to your public comments and to urge you to withdraw such comments, which are plainly false,” the letter to Pillich said in part.The letter added that the Bengals have “shown a clear commitment to negotiating a long-term deal with the County.”Pillich responded to the letter on Wednesday, saying “I won’t trade barbs with the Bengals. Let’s just get the deal done.”As this is happening, the June 30 deadline to renew the Bengals’ lease is just a few weeks away. Last month, Hamilton County commissioners voted in favor of the county’s memorandum of understanding with the Bengals that paved the way for improvements to happen at Paycor Stadium with $120 million from the team and the NFL.
CINCINNATI —
More drama surfaced Wednesday regarding the Cincinnati Bengals’ negotiations with Hamilton County on their Paycor Stadium lease.
Hamilton County prosecutor Connie Pillich received a sharply worded letter from the Bengals that criticized her comments about the negotiations.
The letter was hand-delivered to Pillich and came one week after Hamilton County fired its longtime point for the lease of Paycor Stadium.
In recent weeks, Pillich has commented on the slow process of getting a deal done, saying negotiators have been treading water for “quite some time.”
The Bengals and the organization’s legal counsel took exception to those statements.
“Despite your lack of involvement or any direct knowledge of ongoing lease discussions, you took liberties last week by making public comments regarding the Team and questioning the Team’s good faith efforts to negotiate a Comprehensive Agreement with the County. We write to express our serious objection to your public comments and to urge you to withdraw such comments, which are plainly false,” the letter to Pillich said in part.
The letter added that the Bengals have “shown a clear commitment to negotiating a long-term deal with the County.”
Pillich responded to the letter on Wednesday, saying “I won’t trade barbs with the Bengals. Let’s just get the deal done.”
As this is happening, the June 30 deadline to renew the Bengals’ lease is just a few weeks away.
Last month, Hamilton County commissioners voted in favor of the county’s memorandum of understanding with the Bengals that paved the way for improvements to happen at Paycor Stadium with $120 million from the team and the NFL.