Gordon Bombay

Well said. These leagues do not have any loyalty, and although Cincinnati and its teams are in fairly good positions, billionaires are ultimately going to do what's best for them.

Love the confidence, but let's see how it plays out first. The Bengals aren't going anywhere for a minimum of two seasons, a maximum of ten (depending on how many two-year lease extensions they option for). As the end of that point approaches, relocation can and will be used as a threat if they don't find the deal to their liking. As a Bengals fan, I hope that doesn't happen, but this team and ownership has shown twice in history they're not above that. I mean, we're talking "bigger" by a matter of a few thousand to a hundred thousand. Not to mention most of those cities already have renovation plans in place (Charlotte, Pittsburgh), just completed a massive renovation (Kansas City), relatively new stadiums (Indianapolis), are currently building a new stadium (Nashville), or completely lost a team (St. Louis). The Bengals are also at the bottom of franchise evaluations. True, but so has renovation/upgrade talk. All of these things will intensify as time goes on and if it turns sour, they will absolutely threaten relocation. MLB has three/four markets actively pursuing teams, Utah is one of them. Are they a threat for NFL relocation? Not at the moment, but San Antonio will try to be once again. I don't disagree one bit—and I hope that the Queen City does—but that's going to come at a yet-to-be-determined cost all while another group attempts to tap into tax money for a new arena. It's going to get interesting and as the nation has only begun wading through the early months of Trump 2.0, it remains to be seen what appetite people have for public money going to (in the case of the Bengals) owners who have plenty of money, very little on-field success, and a reputation as the ones who helped bring the public "the worst stadium financing deal ever." I do agree, though, that a Republican dominated Ohio Statehouse will gladly hand over money to keep both teams.

Certainly an entertainer who's trying to rile people up, but the statement from Blackburn at the owner's meeting shouldn't surprise anyone. Despite what the Bengals apologists want to believe and make excuses for on Reddit and Facebook, the Brown family is ultimately going to do what's in their best financial interest. I personally see them sticking out the ten years worth of lease extensions (why not, they have a great deal), but after that—unless something changes in the front office or a stadium magically appears, relocation will very much be on the table and it will be something they use as a threat to to get what they want—whether that's a new facility, renovations, etc. I sincerely doubt that relocation threat will include a join stadium with the Bears, though. Katie Blackburn just needs to call up the Chargers to see how that would go.

🙏

Good things like cheeseburgers... in paradise? What's the latest on Margaritaville? Last news seemed to be December.

You’ve been saying this ever since Mel Gibson’s The Passion came out.

The Department of Education is going away and this guy and his friends think we need to fund an arena because he hasn’t seen Bruce Springsteen enough.

And those cities thought they weren't Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford, Baltimore, Cleveland, etc. etc. etc. To bring it back to the arena and topic at hand: All I'm saying is that both the Reds and Bengals will be watching any County involvement in a potential arena plan very, very closely and neither organization's ownership is above what other leagues/owners have pulled in the recent past.

Bud, you can decline to use a space after a period, but you can't just define a market by pulling numbers out of thin air. The attached screenshot shows a 300 mile radius around Cincinnati. If the Reds were really drawing a significant number of fans from your arbitrary zone, you'd think the club wouldn't regularly be at the lower end of the attendance table. The Tigers, Pirates, Guardians, Cubs, White Sox, and even the Cardinals would probably take issue with your market size. The "Reds Caravan" and the "Reds Radio Network" is not/was not WGN or TBS. I love the Reds, but no team is safe when it comes to these leagues and these owners—and fans/taxpayers alike should be keenly aware of that as any funding discussions move forward.

Uh... they're either all bigger markets (or markets growing faster than Cincinnati) and are all working to lure a franchise via stadium plans that would undoubtedly produce a more modern, luxurious, and profitable venue than the 22-year old Great American Ballpark in small market Cincinnati. As @JaceTheAce41 pointed out: The State of Utah even has $900M already earmarked for a stadium. Oh, and let's not forget... the Reds have actively, multiple times in their history, considered relocation. Again, not saying they would move, but the anecdotal experience of locals who weeped when Pete Rose died doesn't mean anything to Rob Manfred, MLB, or the Castellini's if there's a chance to make money. The Point Is: Even THE Cincinnati Reds, with all of their history and local pride—are going to want incentives to stay at GABP for the long term. Maybe they're not as demanding as The Bengals, maybe they don't need the same amount of money as a new arena, but it is foolish to believe that they'd just stay on principle alone. The Reds and their stadium will absolutely be part of any conversation regarding Hamilton County funding.

I blame, Fauci, personally.

And yet Winnipeg got a lucky steal and Quebec is still waiting for a call from the NHL. Team history/local fandom/parades — it means so little when it comes to these owners and leagues. Hell, that league is looking to do Atlanta a THIRD time and they're holding out hopes on a return to Phoenix. Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, Orlando, Salt Lake City — all with active groups looking for an MLB team whether via relocation or expansion. I truly respect your passion for the local team, but see, I do understand that history and that's exactly why I believe neither I, nor you, should trust them. The Modell/Paul Brown story is ancient history at this point and Mike hasn't once cared about his father's legacy (as already pointed out, he was ready to move the Bengals twice). If folks think The Brown Family is going to stay here (should they not get a deal that's amenable to them), they're drinking too many $18 Paycor Stadium "premium" beers while reminiscing about the freezer bowl on Facebook. - - - Just to be clear: I am a big fan of all of our local teams. I'm not advocating for these teams to move, nor do I think they have any immediate plans to do so, etc. However, what I am saying is—they are going to do what's in the owner and league's best financial interest regardless of local history, sentiment, or warm memories from locals. I don't like it. I don't agree with it. But I've covered this kind of stuff for a long time and it's rare to see these situations resolved with any sort of overarching integrity from the folks who stand to profit the most. All that being said, I agree with you @JaceTheAce41—the Reds are an interesting part of this. In the past, they've been better partners with the County than the Bengals (have financed several of their own upgrades, utilized County programs to reduce costs, etc.), but I imagine they don't want to be left out of this either. What would be interesting is seeing some sort of collective, civic agreement come together that supports three venues (maintaining the existing GABP and PBS, assisting with an arena). Maybe it's region-wide, maybe it's wishful thinking, but securing three venues with a future path forward would seem to make sense. Especially if you involve the Convention Center/an arena over there. I don't know, maybe that's too wishful of thinking in this political reality (we should fund schools ffs, not stadiums) and besides, the guy pushing all this clearly has a preferred site.

I see this a lot and just don’t believe it. Neither the Castellini’s nor MLB actually care. Barring some sudden affinity “to do the right thing,” the Reds will (and probably currently are) look at every option in the medium-long term future. Yeah, they have a stronger history than most clubs and I’d argue that their position in somewhat unique/safer than the other clubs, but let’s not kids ourselves (especially with how Oakland/Tampa are playing out)—IF the league and owners see dollar signs in relocating the Reds and if they don’t have what they see as “a good thing” here, they will do whatever they want to do. The Brown family isn’t loyal, though, and most certainly “not to a fault.” I get that some fans are happy to see Mike’s influence slipping in favor of Katie’s, but that team had handshake agreements to move to LA and Baltimore in the 90s before getting Paul Brown Stadium. They will absolutely play the “will they/won’t they” game. What’s 50–100 million in profit when you can make even more somewhere else?

From this week: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/13/group-launches-push-for-new-cincinnati-arena-timed-for-march-madness/82362122007/

Hopefully you didn't think the last one was too long. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/james-cameron-avatar-fire-and-ash-longer-than-way-of-water-1236158785/

Sadly, too true. :(

I mean, even when the Biden administration was around, it’s not like Cincinnati City Council/SORTA was interested in anything more than milquetoast BRT.

Au contraire, my friend. It has in fact been updated, and if you can imagine—it used to be worse. 😄 I don’t know what the original setup was (and I think that the scoreboard itself came from Montreal), but for a good long while between like 2007 and 2012—two sides of the scoreboard actually showed rear projection video (which was impossible to see clearly when the house lights were on) while the other two sides had a more “traditional” big screen tv-like set up with several burnt out pixels. I believe they replaced that/upgraded to the current screens shortly before the name change (and the few touch-ups that brought).

This is the only ad I get on YouTube now. I might have to go.

@ryanlammi, was this the “free parking” lot for OTR Stillhouse? And if so, are they still using that nearby parking deck for their customer parking? Just realized I’ve never actually driven a car to there.

I’m never gonna be one to champion the downtown arena, but I think it’s fair to say they’ve done what they can, especially after Heritage Bank became the sponsor. There’s now new lighting inside, an updated scoreboard, etc. The reality is that the owners were never going to put “big league” money into it especially without a major tenant and despite what Jeff Berding says (yet can’t show), the current setup is able to accommodate the standard touring acts of our day. Heritage Bank Center isn’t great, but it’s probably the best it can currently be given its reality and limitations.

Correct—along with a myriad of other improvements such as completely renovating the appearance of the concourses and bathrooms, adding a center-hung scoreboard, upgrading backstage areas, renovating the suites, a new Zamboni, and more. There’s a photographer named Bob Busser who has a fantastic collection of arena/stadium photographs — he has some great views of how the arena appeared before its 1996/97 renovations into “The Crown”:

Tangentially related, but remember that brief moment when Heritage Bank Center was “The Crown” after it was renovated from “The Coliseum” and right before it became the “Firstar Center?” I got this ad served to me on YouTube the other day after a few drinks. Had to do a double take. Not sure why the algorithm is choosing to show me ads for a circus stop in Fayetteville, NC, but here we are.

Fair points, @Boomerang_Brian and very well said.

You know what would make “The Connector” better? If it didn’t stop to switch drivers at the maintenance facility EVERY. SINGLE. LOOP. Why is there even a station on the East side of Findlay Market? Just make it a block north at the maintenance facility since they’re gonna stop there anyways.