A $16.5M deal between the Bengals and Hamilton County (Ohio) Commissioners will "upgrade Paul Brown Stadium" and "pave the way for the next phase" of The Banks mixed-use riverfront development, according to a front-page piece by Sharon Coolidge of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. The deal marks "what one commissioner called a 'new era' between the team and county -- which owns Paul Brown Stadium -- after decades of lawsuits and vitriol." The Bengals "waived height restrictions" at The Banks and the county in exchange "negotiated six stadium upgrades -- some of which the Bengals themselves will pay for despite their lease requiring taxpayers to foot the bill." The deal includes a new scoreboard, which is "expected to cost" $10M, of which the Bengals will pay $2.5M. The county also is "allowing the team to expand its locker room into a space that had been set aside in case a professional soccer team came to Cincinnati." The stadium will "be outfitted with Wi-Fi, as required by the NFL." Taxpayers will pay $3M of the $3.5M project, although the Bengals "are paying the entire cost up front and then will be reimbursed by the county over five years." The county also is "allowing the team to play two international games as the 'home' team." The Bengals are paying $6M of the $16.5M agreement, with $4M going "toward projects their lease requires the county to pay for." The deal was "hammered out in secret over the past few weeks, with negotiations ramping up this week as commissioners prioritized a riverfront deal to land GE." Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune has "long attacked the Bengals as taking advantage of taxpayers with an unfair lease." But he said that it was "time to put differences aside" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/18).
