COLUMBUS, Ohio — After the Ohio House passed its version of the state budget bill promising $600 million from bonds to the Browns for a new enclosed stadium, Hamilton County and the Cincinnati Bengals submitted a mid-game request for their own stadium money.
Documents submitted to the state show that the Bengals and county commissioners are asking Ohio for $350 million. The funding would be used to "enhance Paycor Stadium as a major economic driver" for the region and the state, according to a proposal released by Hamilton County.
The plan puts the total cost of the renovations around $830 million, which commissioners said is less than a third of the price of building a new stadium.
That means the Bengals and the county are asking the state to pay for 42% of the project, which they say will trigger $500 million in new development at the surrounding Banks entertainment district, where there are acres of empty lots.
Bengals 'probably kicking themselves'
Before Thursday's announcement, University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven had predicted the Bengals were “probably kicking themselves” over the Browns' recent success in Columbus.
The Ohio House passed its version of a two-year budget bill on Wednesday, earmarking $600 million for a new Browns stadium. The bill specifically excluded the Bengals by limiting outsized state investments in pro sports to a “transformational major sports facility mixed-use project” in a county with at least 1 million people. Cuyahoga County meets that threshold. Hamilton County does not.
“It’s not an accident,” House Finance Committee Chairman Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) told News 5's Morgan Trau on April 1. “This amendment is designed to refer to the (Cleveland Browns) proposal only.”
The Ashville Republican said the Bengals never asked to be written into the bill.
“We've not received an ask about any other proposal, OK? That may be coming, but it was not on my desk at the time this budget is done,” he said.
Niven said the Browns were successful with a lobbying strategy that emphasized what a new stadium would mean for Northeast Ohio: A domed stadium and entertainment district capable of hosting major concerts and a Super Bowl. The Bengals, meanwhile, have historically focused their public comments on the shortcomings of their taxpayer-funded stadium.
RELATED: Browns say new Brook Park stadium district will add $1.2 billion to the local economy
“I think the Bengals need to do more of what the Browns are doing, which is tell the story of what this would mean for the community, for the region," Niven said.
The Browns are seeking $1.2 billion in taxpayer financing to help pay for their new stadium, which could cost $2.4 billion to construct. Half of that public funding would come from the state, and the other half would come from local sources.
The Browns are asking governments to borrow the money by issuing bonds - and then repay the debt, with interest, using tax revenues from the entire mixed-use, 176-acre stadium district the team is planning in Brook Park.
You can read the full details of the Bengals' renovation proposal below:
What happens next
The bill approved by the Ohio House yesterday is just one step in the budgeting process. It still needs to be vetted by the Ohio Senate, with any changes approved by both houses, before it's ultimately sent to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature.
Senate Finance Chair Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) said that no one from the Bengals or Hamilton County had reached out to him about this new request.
On Thursday, DeWine spoke with WCPO about the Cincinnati stadium proposal and said he's reluctant to have the state pay for it, adding that the money could be better spent elsewhere.
DeWine said that last year he spoke to Alicia Reece, the county commission president, and other county members about the stadium's future, but there wasn’t a joint request.
“It was basically the county saying we’re going to need some money, and that’s how I interpreted that,” DeWine said.
That funding request is an issue for the state, he said.
“We're seeing the cost of these stadiums go up and up and up, and frankly we don't have the money out of the general fund to take money out anymore,” DeWine said. “We’ve done it in the past, but it’s been much smaller amounts.”
DeWine said the last time the state paid out for a stadium was for the Cleveland Guardians several years ago.
“It’s clear that the needs are great, but I can’t in good conscience take that money away from education, take it away from treatment of people with mental health problems, people with addiction problems, and the other needs that you know, we have in the state budget," DeWine said. "We just can't do it. The money is simply not there to do that."
DeWine didn't shoot down the plan entirely. He said the funds could come from raising the state's tax on sports-betting companies' profits. That industry is mostly online, with out-of-state businesses that don't contribute money to the state. The governor has been saying he'd prefer to pay for stadiums with a higher sports-betting tax since February.
"The easiest thing I think to do, and the right thing to do, the just thing to do, is to raise the tax, raise the fee that we charge them for doing business in the state of Ohio, and if we raise that 20%, that would generate about $150-to-$180 million every single year," DeWine said. "That would provide a fund that would allow us to help counties, help cities and help professional sports to keep these stadiums up, and make sure that they stay in the State of Ohio."
WCPO contributed to this story.
