Why is Mr. Brown now saying he might kill his stadium deal with Hamilton County?
Mr. Brown says that if the city and county don’t resolve their differences by Jan. 31, he’ll kill the stadium deal – which he is allowed to do under the terms of a lease he signed with the county on May 29. He says if the work on the stadium doesn’t begin by Jan. 31, there’s no way the stadium can be finished on time. And he argues that Hamilton County voters didn’t vote to pay the team a bunch of late penalties while the Bengals continue to play in Cinergy Field. What happens to the stadium tax if the Bengals deal dies? That’s unclear. County commissioners stipulated they would rescind the sales tax if they didn’t have a signed lease with one of the teams by June 1, 1997. The county signed a lease with the Bengals May 29. But if Mr. Brown kills the deal at the end of this month, that could mean the death of the sales tax increase. Nobody knows for sure. Why has the price for these stadiums changed so dramatically? The Regional Stadium Task Force estimated it would cost about $544 mill
