Cincinnati Bengals oppose raising of funds for stadium repairs through ticket tax – NFL News
A letter from Cincinnati Bengals lawyer Troy Blackburn has warned against a proposed ticket tax, being pushed by the County commissioner Todd Portune.
The lawyer called the proposed step as "misguided frolic', according to the letter. The Cincinnati Bengals are opposing a ticket tax proposed by the County commissioner to bridge the gap in funding to be available to Bengals for
repairs and upgrade of the Paul Brown Stadium
According to the original plans, the Bengals and Reds had requested for $23 million. The amount was to be spread over next few years. It is supposed to be spent on the repairs and upgrades during this period.
The County did not agree to the desire amount by the Bengals. They said that they were able to release $8 million instead. The total amount included $6 million for the Paul Brown Stadium and $2 million for Great American Ball Park.
The latest warning letter from the Bengals came at the moment when the Commissioners were reported to have been exploring some other options to generate $14 million to bridge the gap in the funding.
This included a proposal by the Commissioner Chris Monzel for selling of Drake Hospital. The Hospital is owned by the County, and proposed to be sold to University Hospital, which already leases the place.
The proceeds from the Hospital sale are expected to generate $13 million, which will leave a shortfall of $1 million.
The proposal to levy the tax is at the signing phase, it needs only the commissioner signatures now. However, the Cincinnati Bengals said that the proposed levy would be illegal and that it would violate their lease terms, according
to the letter. The letter further said that the county was to go ahead with its proposed step; they would not agree to reduce their originally demanded funds for repairs and upgrades.
The Bengals have also warned that they would not agree to the slashed amount if the County was to go ahead with the proposed tax, as according to them, the step was not acceptable to them, and would not work out.
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