Reason Why the Bengals Might Not be Patient (Stadium Deal)

[Luvnit2]

(10-21-2020, 01:49 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: I'm seeing a lot of talk about how it's a forgone conclusion that Zac Taylor will get a 3rd year.  I've seen explanations range from team history (Dave Shula getting 5 years) to coaches getting 2 years with 1st round QB's.

In any other time I might agree with a lot of these points made, and think the chances of us are moving on are slim to none.  But there is something very different about the time we're currently in....

The Stadium lease renewal.  For those that don't know, the lease on PBS with the county ends in 2026. (There are potential extensions and particulars, but we're still nearing a very important date)  At that time, any county funds will cease being made to the Bengals for upgrades and matenance.  Hamilton County and the Bengals have until then to come to agreement on how to proceed.

Some of you might be thinking, 2026 is awhile away, it's only 2020.  Well, the county and the team are expected to begin formal talks in 2022.  2022 is only 14 months away.

Without going into too much crazy detail, just now a couple things.  The county isn't in the best of shape right now as far finances.  The two stadiums (PBS + GAB) won't be paid off until 2032.  The current .05 levy is expected to continue for pretty much forever.  We also just committed 1.2 BILLION dollars to a transportation levy, that runs for, I think, 12 years.

What this means is simple.  The county isn't sitting on a mountain of cash.  Nor can they easily gain support for additional taxes.  Hamilton County is now one of the highest taxed counties in the entire state.

So all of this means the Bengals really need to present themselves in the very best light possible.  The better product they have, the stronger their leverage.  If they continue to roll out the product they are, they're going to be really hurting themselves.

And if you think the answer is, "well, the Bengals will just leave if the county can't be meet their demands", this could very well be true.  But the same logic applies to negotiations with other cities.  The better their team performs the more leverage they can use.  

No one wants to go into negotiations with a bottom of the barrel franchise.

The average cost for rennovating and upgrading aging stadiums, in these type of deals, is 214 million dollars.  The average cost for new stadiums is creeping pasy 1 BILLION.  This means there are hundreds of millions to past billion dollars at stake.

What does Mike Brown and his family take very seriously, maybe more than anything else?  Money.  And there's a lot of money on the line.

So when you consider all of the above, and couple it with simple pride and 30 years of proven failure, I think you may see this team operate differently from their previous norm.  And I actually believe this played a big hand in what we saw in free agency.  Now is not the time to be stubborn.

This team desperately needs fan support.  They need the city's support.  The last thing they want is a half empty stadium to continue to be a reality going into all of this.  And unfortuanately for them, the excitment that is Joe Burrow's first year, which would drive ticket sales, is lost to Covid.

I hope I didn't bore anyone to death with this.  I think it's a very valid angle to consider.

TY for taking the time to do this, it helps me comprehend better the financial ramifications on both city/county and team.

Sadly, I do not think any owner of any professional sports team should need reasons to win. I hate losing, I wish the Brown family did as well.