After an extended period of tension between the Bengals and Hamilton County, Ohio, the two sides are working together. In one specific way.
Via WLWT.com, the team and the county have made a joint request for $350 million in state money that would be devoted to renovations of Paycor Stadium.
The submission came a day after the Ohio House of Representatives passed a budget that includes a $600 million bond issuance that would help pay for a new stadium for the Cleveland Browns.
The total renovation of Paycor Stadium would cost $830 million — roughly a third of the cost of the new stadium the Browns hope to build in suburban Brook Park.
The team's contribution is not specified in the report. The length of a new lease that would tied to a renovation also was not specified.
The Cincinnati stadium opened in 2000, one year after the Cleveland stadium that the Browns hope to replace in lieu of renovation.
The stakes are high. Absent a new deal — and unless the Bengals exercise an option to extend the current lease by June 30 — the Bengals' lease will expire before the 2026 season.
Last week, Bengals executive V.P. Katie Blackburn acknowledged that, "[w]e could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year."
It's obviously not that simple. The Bengals would have to contend with Ohio's Art Modell Law, which requires professional sports teams to give local groups a chance to buy the franchise in lieu of relocation. Also, the NFL's owners would need to approve relocation with 24 of 32 teams allowing it.
Still. it looks as if the Bengals and Hamilton County have made real progress toward striking a deal. The question now becomes whether the public money can be secured.
