The Cincinnati Bengals and Hamilton County finalized a new 11-year lease on Friday that includes $470 million in renovations to Paycor Stadium.
Hamilton County commissioners approved a version of the lease on Thursday but the Bengals did not sign because they had not seen the version that county officials approved. Both sides negotiated through the night before the Bengals signed off and commissioners approved during a special meeting on Friday.
The lease keeps the team at their downtown home through at least 2036. It also includes 10 additional option years that could extend it through June 2046.
“The Bengals thank Hamilton County and its Commissioners for demonstrating leadership and taking steps that continue moving Cincinnati forward,” Bengals Executive Vice President Katie Blackburn said in a statement. “It solidifies the future of the Bengals in Cincinnati, our beloved home, for many years to come. Today’s deal embodies a responsible approach for the future, while at the same time keeping Paycor Stadium a great venue that can provide our great fans the great gameday experience they deserve.”
The county will contribute $350 million toward the renovations, and the Bengals will pay $120 million. The plan is far less than the $830 million the Bengals originally proposed.
The Bengals and Hamilton County will also work to secure state funding. The Cleveland Browns are receiving $600 million from unclaimed funds in Ohio’s budget recently signed by Gov. Mike DeWine. The Browns are planning to build a new domed stadium in Brookpark, Ohio, near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The Bengals have proposed improvements to the club lounges, stadium suites, concessions and scoreboards. A permanent indoor facility is also on the long-term wish list. Cincinnati was the only northern NFL team without an indoor practice facility for many seasons until 2022, when it added an indoor practice bubble across the street from its outdoor fields.
Owner Mike Brown said on July 21 that the planned improvements and requests were in line with other medium- to small-market NFL franchises.
“We aren’t looking for fancy, new things,” Brown said. “We’re going to try to spruce up the club area. There are some areas around and about in the concession area. There are things that are going to be improved but we aren’t going to put a dome over the top. We aren’t going to put a mammoth scoreboard in. It is going to be what it has been, pretty much, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”
The Bengals have called Paycor Stadium home since 2000. It was originally named Paul Brown Stadium until the team sold the naming rights in August 2022.
The finalized lease wraps up what had been a long and at times contentious period of negotiations between Hamilton County and the Bengals. The original 1996 lease has been cited by many as what city, county or state governments should not do when trying to build a new stadium or arena for a team and giving that franchise too much control of the process.
“We stood firm on what we thought was best. I think that this lease agreement is good for the people and the team. This I feel is the people’s lease and I feel proud of that,” Stephanie Summerow Dumas, one of Hamilton County’s three commissioners, said on Friday.
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