If a new lease agreement isn’t signed by next Tuesday, the team will exercise the two-year extension options that works on a rolling basis, extending the current lease, one the team is unhappy with, for two years over and over until a new deal is signed or the agreement is terminated.
In order to terminate the lease to move to another location, though, the Bengals have to let the County know by Dec. 31 of the second year of the extension (six months before each extension’s expiration date) that they intend to look elsewhere. During that six-month period, the Bengals must give the County, any individual in the County, or any group of individuals in the County the opportunity to purchase the team, as Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reveals.
However unlikely it may be for the team to change cities, Brown’s father, former Browns and Bengals head coach, owner, and co-founder Paul Brown, located the franchise in Cincinnati because of its centrality to large neighboring cities like Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky and Columbus, Dayton and Springfield in Ohio. The “Louisville Bengals” or “Columbus Bengals” may sound strange to the ear, but their close vicinity to the team’s current location (combined with existing bases of dedicated collegiate fans) could bode well for their chances of landing an NFL franchise.
The County exchanged two offers with the Bengals in April, but both showed wide gaps between the two parties’ desires in terms of contribution, length, and type. In the months since, the two sides have worked to bridge that gap, establishing a memorandum of understanding that tentatively puts some terms in place for the renovation project.
The last day that the commissioners of Hamilton County are meeting before June 30 is Thursday morning. In this session, the commissioners could initiate a vote on one more potential agreement to offer to the Bengals. From there, the Bengals will make the decision to sign the new lease offer or move forward with the first of a potential several two-year extensions.
If it gets to that point, there will be a close watch on just whom the Bengals’ top brass is communicating with moving forward.
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