Bengals’ Katie Blackburn addresses staying downtown, seeks ‘more urgency’ for stadium deal.

Palm Beach, Florida. Katie Blackburn, the Cincinnati Bengals’ executive vice president, sat in a peaceful courtyard at The Breakers hotel on Tuesday with a tiny media group attending the NFL’s annual league meeting. Her plate has recently been full, with contracts for studs Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, an ongoing negotiation with edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, and free agency. However, one business concern that did not reflect the tranquilly of the surroundings has come to light. The June 30 deadline for exercising the first of five two-year rolling extensions of the Paycor Stadium lease approaches. It will be a tipping point for retaining the Bengals at The Banks in downtown Cincinnati.

Blackburn stated that she would prefer to provide encouraging details of a contract with Hamilton County and maintain an upbeat tone about the prospects of obtaining a downtown reconstruction deal. That’s simply not the case. Instead, she could only describe her tone in the negotiations as “neutral” and accept that a significant gap does not appear to be decreasing as the clock ticks. “We wish there was a little more urgency and it was moving faster,” says Blackburn. “I believe the county wants to get something done. We just don’t appear to be moving quickly enough.”

In September, the county revealed designs and specifics of a $1.3 billion restoration proposal, which included new team training and headquarters, practice fields, and improved connectivity to The Banks beyond in-stadium improvements. Those functioned as a jumping off point, but they did not always share the Bengals’ vision or financial commitment. In January, a series of tense emails between VP Troy Blackburn and county administrator Jeff Aluotto appeared, indicating that the negotiation was far from over or that the course of the talks was not satisfactory. The county recently recruited David Abrams of Inner Circle Sports, which is based in New York City, as a consultant in the negotiations. He has helped negotiate deals in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Nashville. He arrived with a specific understanding of what should be in these types of deals with hopes of bridging the gap.

Blackburn sees roadblocks despite everyone’s efforts.

“We’ve all been working really hard on looking at a lease extension and renovations that might be part of that,” she told me. “There are so many fantastic ideas out there. It’s simply finding a method to bring everything together, ensuring that everyone is on the same page, and pulling it all together. We seem to have a lot of work to do to make that a reality.” Meanwhile, stadium discussions in Cleveland have been contentious, with lawsuits filed by the Browns and the city of Cleveland over the ownership’s intention to relocate the team from downtown to an indoor stadium and entertainment complex in suburban Brook Park. They are angling for proposed state funding to help cover the expenses of the $2.4 billion football mecca.