The Bengals are not just a Hamilton County team − they are a regional institution. So why is Hamilton County still footing the bill alone?
Dennis Doyle
| Opinion contributor
Paycor Stadium renovation plan: What does it look like
Hamilton County officials unveiled a $1.2 billion plan to renovate the Bengals’ stadium and the area around it.
Provided by MSA Design
There’s been a lot of public talk lately − especially from the Hamilton County prosecutor − about wanting a “good deal for the taxpayers” in the ongoing stadium negotiations with the Cincinnati Bengals. But all that talk avoids the elephant in the room.
The Bengals already have a good deal. They have one of the most team-friendly stadium agreements in professional sports. While the public often hears that the lease “expires in 2026,” what’s rarely mentioned is that the Bengals hold the power to extend it unilaterally for up to 10 more years, through five two-year periods, on the same favorable terms. The current lease officially ends June 30, 2026, but if the Bengals choose to exercise the extensions, they could stay through 2036, continuing to pay no rent while Hamilton County remains responsible for major expenses.
That includes capital maintenance, upgrades and certain game-day operations − all at taxpayer expense. These aren’t hypotheticals; they’re binding terms. The Bengals don’t need to make any new commitments because they already hold all the leverage.
What’s changed recently is the Bengals’ interest in upgrading the stadium. A speculative plan has been drawn, hinging on non-county funding − possibly from the state of Ohio − and tied to the hope that a new lease might finally bring a return on the county’s original (and ever-growing) investment. But so far, the state hasn’t committed a dollar, and the Bengals haven’t agreed to pay rent or share new revenue.
By the time the current lease and extensions run their course, Hamilton County will have spent $1.5 billion on a facility that still doesn’t generate rent and may not guarantee a long-term team presence. The county hopes to negotiate something better − but that’s hope, not strategy. The Bengals can simply extend the lease and continue as is.
A regional solution, or a white elephant?
It doesn’t have to end this way. Other cities − Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Kansas City − have found better ways. They’ve created regional sports authorities or multi-county funding mechanisms to reflect the regional nature of their teams and stadiums. Cincinnati should do the same.
The Bengals are not just a Hamilton County team − they are a regional institution. So why is Hamilton County still footing the bill alone?
Without a shift in how we fund and govern our professional sports venues, we risk repeating the same mistakes, only on a larger scale. Because in 10 years, Hamilton County will have spent a billion and a half dollars, and the elephant in the room will no longer be ignored. It will have turned white − a gaping hole of a stadium in the middle of downtown Cincinnati, reminding us of every missed opportunity to fix the deal when we had the chance.
Dennis Doyle lives in Anderson Township.