Hamilton County OKs $470M Paycor Stadium renovation, but Bengals say they haven't seen final lease

CINCINNATI (AP) — A new stadium lease for the Cincinnati Bengals has not reached the end zone yet.

Hamilton County commissioners approved the 11-year lease on Thursday that includes $470 million in renovations to Paycor Stadium.

However, the Bengals have not signed off because they have not seen the final version.

“The version of the lease approved by the Hamilton County Commissioners was not shared with the Bengals prior to the vote. The team will have no further comment until we are able to review the document,” the Bengals said in a statement after the commissioners voted 2-1 to approve the lease.

The commissioners will hold a special meeting on Friday with the lease agreement on the agenda.

The lease would keep 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 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 county has said that what we’re asking for is in the generality of what other NFL teams deals are in markets our size, and in situations approaching ours,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said on July 21. “We think the stadium fits our needs, fits the community for size. It’s a nice stadium, it really is. It needs to be maintained. We want that to be the case moving forward, but what we’re doing is asking to go forward in a way not too dissimilar from how we have been going all these years.”

The Bengals have proposed improvements to the club lounges, stadium suites, concessions and scoreboards.

The funds do not include any money from the state. The Cleveland Browns are receiving $600 million from unclaimed funds in the 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 called Paycor Stadium home since 2000. It was originally named Paul Brown Stadium until the team sold the naming rights in August 2022.

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