Bengals seek $43M for stadium fixes

By Sharon Coolidge • scoolidge@enquirer.com • January 30, 2011


Enquirer file/Tony Jones
Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000, needs upkeep.

The Bengals want Hamilton County to pour $43.6 million into Paul Brown Stadium repairs and improvements over the next decade, four times the amount the county expected to spend.

The plan, obtained by the Enquirer under a public records request, doesn't specify the improvements, listing them only in broad categories like "groundskeeping," "audio/visual," or "concession."

But it does include the county buying an $8 million, state-of-the-art scoreboard sometime in the next two years, the Bengals said.

The Bengals insist their wishes are modest - the basic costs of maintaining an aging stadium.

Without the scoreboard, the Bengals are seeking about $35 million. One expert said $20 million to $40 million is reasonable for maintaining Paul Brown stadium over the next decade.

The county says the stadium might indeed need that much work - but the county can't afford it.

This year's repairs are likely to be the least expensive, with the county expected to shell out $800,000 for repairs and improvements, including new carpet for the grounds crew office, replacing the draft beer system and making the heating and air-conditioning system more energy efficient.

"The Bengals are not a team that goes for the high end for much of anything," said Stuart Dornette, an attorney for the Bengals. "It's not as if they're interested in throwing around money."

The alternative, they said, is a deteriorating stadium like its predecessor, Riverfront Stadium. That stadium was in such bad shape by the mid-1990s that the only alternative was building two new stadiums

The requests come as the county struggles to pay off the $1 billion cost of building Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown stadium.

The sales tax revenues envisioned as paying the stadium debt have fallen short; this year for the first time county taxpayers are being forced to pay higher property taxes to help cover that shortfall.

The Bengals need to face "economic reality," said commissioner Greg Hartmann.

"The stadium might require $43 million in improvements in the next 10 years, but if the sales tax doesn't generate the dollars we can't do it," said Hartmann, the president of the county's three-man commission.

Commissioner Chris Monzel echoed the idea that the county can't do improvements it can't pay for.

"We're trying just to keep afloat," Monzel said. "I'm hoping the Bengals will be realistic."

Commissioner Todd Portune, the board's only Democrat, said he isn't surprised by the Bengals' multi-million dollar wish list, but said, "It offends me and should offend every taxpayer."

"You can't ignore maintenance"

Mark Rosentraub, a professor of sports management at the University of Michigan, said stadium maintenance is no different than making home repairs - just on a larger scale.

"They attract several hundreds of thousands of people a year, there's a lot of wear and tear," said Rosentraub, author of several books on stadium financing. "Depending on age and environmental factors, you can expect maintenance costs of a couple million a year."

In Cincinnati's case, he said $2 million to $4 million a year is a reasonable expectation.

"It's goes back to the original leases that were very advantageous to the teams," he said. "But that problem exists, you can't ignore maintenance. It will only get worse."

The county - which owns the stadiums - is legally obligated to pay for the improvements under the terms of the lease it agreed to with the Bengals in 1997. That includes a new scoreboard.

But the county says it's first obligation is paying back $405 million in stadium debt over the next 10 years for both riverfront stadiums.

"If the Sales Tax Fund comes up short, the very last expenditure to be cut will be the debt service. ... other expenditures are logically and legally less protected," said Hamilton County Interim Administrator Christian Sigman.

The lease requires the improvements. That means the county would have to come up with any additional money some other way - a higher sales tax, as commissioner Portune has proposed, or more money from other county services like roads or policing.

The Bengals have shown a willingness to work with the county. They allowed the county to whittle this year's list down by half from $1.6 million. And last year the team did chip in a little more than half the total $900,000 cost of new cash registers. The lease had called for the county to buy them, but the Bengals helped out as a gesture of goodwill, both sides said.

Out of the stadium fund cash flow, the county budgets $1 million a year for maintenance costs in each of the professional sports stadiums.

During negotiations last year with the Bengals, the county said it could cobble together $23 million to pay for some improvements over the next five years, but that was only if the teams would give the county $9.6 million immediately.

In December 2010, when the county reduced the property tax rollback to generate money for stadium expenses, the Bengals and Reds had agreed to pitch in a combined $9.6 million over the next five years. By getting it immediately, the county said it would have helped reduce this year's deficit, and helped lower future deficits, freeing up more money for the stadium repairs.

That deal that was cut in December, but was never signed. The Bengals now say that deal has fallen through, though the county remains hopeful.

Since Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2000 and Great American Ball Park opened in 2003, taxpayers have made $10.2 million in improvements to the football stadium and $2.1 million in improvements to the baseball stadium.

That's partly because of differences in the leases: The Bengals lease, signed in 1997, says the county must pay for routine maintenance and all capital repairs at Paul Brown Stadium. The Reds lease, signed in 2003, says the county only has to pay for capital improvements at Great American; the team pays the rest.

Last stadium 'deteriorated'

Paul Brown Stadium is a decade old - and with time comes maintenance, Dornette said.

From the beginning, the stadium was designed to last decades, beyond even the end of the team's lease in 2026. To make that happen, Dornette said both sides recognized there would have to be an ongoing investment in the upkeep.

"Look what happened in Cincinnati: The city of Cincinnati stopped putting money into Riverfront Stadium and it deteriorated."

Dornette added the scoreboard isn't a team want - it's a need. The Bengals scoreboard, for example, is not high definition. The Bengals are stuck with the equivalent of an analog TV in a digital age, they say.

Other stadiums, including the rival Steelers, for example, feature high definition scoreboards.

A look at other teams shows Hamilton County isn't alone in bearing the cost of stadium upkeep. City taxpayers in Jacksonville, St. Louis and Tampa pay for their football teams' stadiums upkeep, according to Enquirer research.

Over the next decade stadium upkeep is likely to be costlier, as the stadium ages. Since it opened in 2000, a dozen other NFL stadiums have opened or been rebuilt - stadiums with ever more lavish scoreboards, luxury boxes, and concessions.

Next week's Super Bowl, for example, will be held in the 80,000-seat Cowboys stadium, which opened in 2009 at a cost of $1.15 billion - paid for through funding that includes taxpayers and team-owner Jerry Jones.

It features the largest retractable roof stadium in the world, with a nearly column-free interior and a high definition video screen that stretches from the 20-yard line to the 20-yard line.

The Bengals say they don't want anything that fancy.

Their 10-year projection isn't a done deal.

Each fall the teams submit a more detailed list of anticipated expenses for the following year. The county and team then work together on what projects will actually get done.

Even then, commissioners must sign off on projects as they come up.

Quote:
Stadium timeline

March 1996: In a 61 percent to 39 percent vote, Hamilton County residents approve a half cent sales tax to build Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park.

In exchange, Hamilton County Commissioners promise voters a property tax credit that meant the owners of a $100,000 home would get an estimated $52 credit each year on their tax bill.

The Bengals - who voters feared would leave - promise to stay.

1997: The Bengals and Hamilton County sign a lease that calls for the county to pay for routine maintenance and capital improvements at the stadium.

The lease expires in 2026.

2000: Paul Brown Stadium opens. Cost: $455 million, including more than $70 million for The Banks land.

2003: The Reds and the county sign a lease that calls for the county to pay for capital improvements at the stadium.

The team will pay for routine maintenance.

2003: Great American Ball Park Opens. Cost: $349 million.

Jan. 2010: Financial consultants predicted sales tax revenue would increase 3 percent annually.

Instead, over the last decade, it increased an average of 1.4 percent.

For the first time commissioners borrow $5.5 million to cover a deficit in the stadium fund, but pay it back at the end of the year.

Dec. 1, 2010: Commissioners Greg Hartmann and David Pepper overrule Todd Portune, voting to bail out the stadium fund by having homeowners pay more money in property taxes; they reduce the property tax rollback.

The proposed deal called for the Reds and Bengals to pitch in a combined $9.6 million in rent over the next five years.

This month: The County and Bengals argue over exactly what was promised in the stadium fund deal.

The Bengals said their side agreed to give the county $7.4 million in exchange for the county extending the team's lease options by 10 years, a firm commitment to buy the new scoreboard and a reaffirmation that the county will pay the team $30 million over the last nine years of the lease.

The county said it never made those promises.

The deal is now in jeopardy of collapsing, with neither team yet signing off on the deal.

Even if the teams don't end up chipping in, thanks to county taxpayers' money - the average homeowner will now pay $80 more in property taxes a year - the county can cover this year's $28 million in debt service.

Between 2013 and 2015 the county will need to find an additional $23.9 million.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110...ter-sports

Let them get another stadium in a different city!!!! Maybe we should do a headline. Fans Seek A Real Team and Owner.

Didn't the Reds pay for their scoreboard?

I'd tell the Bengals to pay for it themselves. Cite that they're obviously making a ton of profit since they don't put any money into scouting or a GM, or someone who knows how to put a winning football team on the field.

Also point out that with a crappy football product, that the revenue of local businesses is suffering since fans are going to quit going to the games.

The county needs to take this opportunity to completely demonize the Bengals. Get on all the local news tell the public how they said they needed a new stadium to compete and continue to be the cheapest organization in the NFL. Throw out the numbers on how much more we've spent on upkeep of PBS vs. GABP, and if I'm correct remind everyone the Reds bought their own scoreboard. They need to say that if they want all these things that the Bengals have to re-do the lease and make a fair deal. They have a real opportunity to win the PR battle here. I'd play hardball and tell them that we won't drop a cent into that building until they re-negotiate a fair lease.

I never understood why the Bengals got the more expensive stadium. They play 8 regular season games here, that's it. The rest of the time the building is empty. The Reds play 80+ games here.

If Mike Brown wants a new scoreboard and improvements, then he can buy them himself. God knows he can afford to.

(01-30-2011 09:24 AM)mikecat Wrote:  Let them get another stadium in a different city!!!!

Outstanding!

I'd say I wished they'd pull a Baltimore Colts and get a Mayflower semi in the middle of the night but to save a few sheckles it would be a U-Haul and coaches loading stuff in their cars for the move.

It would probably be cheaper for taxpayers to have the Brown Family Never-ending ATM sit vacant all year on Sundays.

You guys are all wrong. Don't you realize? The Bengals and NFL are good for the city of Cincinnati

(01-30-2011 10:57 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  The county needs to take this opportunity to completely demonize the Bengals. Get on all the local news tell the public how they said they needed a new stadium to compete and continue to be the cheapest organization in the NFL. Throw out the numbers on how much more we've spent on upkeep of PBS vs. GABP, and if I'm correct remind everyone the Reds bought their own scoreboard. They need to say that if they want all these things that the Bengals have to re-do the lease and make a fair deal. They have a real opportunity to win the PR battle here. I'd play hardball and tell them that we won't drop a cent into that building until they re-negotiate a fair lease.

Agree with this 100%. If there was any time for the county to push back at the Bengals, now would be it. And they should do it in this exact fashion, as well.

(01-30-2011 10:57 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  The county needs to take this opportunity to completely demonize the Bengals. Get on all the local news tell the public how they said they needed a new stadium to compete and continue to be the cheapest organization in the NFL. Throw out the numbers on how much more we've spent on upkeep of PBS vs. GABP, and if I'm correct remind everyone the Reds bought their own scoreboard. They need to say that if they want all these things that the Bengals have to re-do the lease and make a fair deal. They have a real opportunity to win the PR battle here. I'd play hardball and tell them that we won't drop a cent into that building until they re-negotiate a fair lease.

Good post.

Unbelievable.

All the more reason for UC and the Cincinnati Reds to start an aggressive advertising campaign and bring in some Bengals fans.

(01-30-2011 04:18 PM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  All the more reason for UC and the Cincinnati Reds to start an aggressive advertising campaign and bring in some Bengals fans.

Reds fans and Bengals fans are the same people and most if not all UC fans are Bengals fans.