Starting tonight with the Philadelphia Phillies in town. Plus the draft is on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday. People going nuts about that. But relative to the
Bengals, what they should do, what they shouldn't do? There are rumors
possibly of a deal deal or not involving the Bengals, and whether there's going
to be a new deal or a five year extension next year, or how
much money is the county going to spend? And secondly what about the futures
Commission? Is so much more. A woman that has a finger on the
pulse of the community is of course Alisia Reese. And with your permission,
a Lisa Reese, I like to play some walk up music. Is that
okay with you? Hit it? What you got? I love the night
life and I got a boogey hit it. Everyone's got walk up music away?
All right, Alicia, let's take a little more serious, all right?
Now, you know my mother was a recording artist. She would sing
that song sometimes. Your mother, wasn't she a backup singer for the Godfather
of Soul? Barbara did some backup? Explain your mother? Explain that because
I love being with us. Yeah, my mother, Barbara Howard reve she
was a singer. She opened up for Stevie Wonder at the Riverfront the Coliseum
at the USC Festival. It had her own album and Retha Franklin. She
was on a show with Aretha. Litha Franklin was her favorite. So yeah.
She was on the Mike Douglas Show and a show called Upbeat, some
national shows that she sang on. So yeah, all around the house.
She all kinds of music, and this was one of her songs. So
she did sing, well, I feel good playing it. Mine's here your
mother, you know what, moms are extremely important. Maybe we should pay
a little respect, a little respect for Alisha Rees. That was her number
one song, She'd be She sang that song, boy everybody go crazy,
And I wish I took after her and I got none of her singing talent.
I took after my father. Well, in honor of Barbara Howard Reese,
here we go. This is it Barbara singing for your daughter, Alisha
Reese hitting Aretha. Yeah what you baby? I got it out? Yeah?
Oh that's it baby. Yeah Yeah. I don't see a lot of
respect anymore anywhere. But let's talk about a little bit about politics, a
little bit of Futures Commission a little bit about the Bengals lease. I know
DeMar is a big deal in the county. We got the draft coming up.
Can you tell the American people who pay all the bills where the commission
is with extending the Bengals lease. Yeah, So tomorrow I've asked the Ministry
to come forward. The first thing we did we put the thirty nine million
dollars to try to do some upgrades with some seats and the field to be
ready for the season. And that's on the current lease that was negotiated for
you know, twenty years ago. And then to tell us where we are
as we go into this new new deal. And one of the things that
I think we've been very I think keen on is that and I know I
have, is that we've got to get if we're going into a new deal,
we've got to get a new diversified funding model. We've got to get
the NFL putting skin in the game. And we're going to be specific about
the skin. When I look at these other teams, the NFL is putting
in two hundred million dollars Denver, I believe it is gave one hundred million
dollars, so we go to them. We can't be talking about twenty five
million or fifty million. We need one hundred plus million dollars to help get
some of this off of the backs of the taxpayers. Right now, we
have one of the most egregious deals that was negotiated certainly prior to my time
there, at all of our time there, and that deal is where the
taxpayers of Hamilton County is flitting ninety four percent of the cost, and we
just can't do that anymore. Nobody has those kind of deals anywhere that I've
seen, and so these new deals have to have the NFL where they have
I believe it's called G five loan programs, and we've got to have them
put in like they're putting in in other markets. They're putting in two hundred
million, they're putting in one hundred million, and we've got to have just
like you had to Retha on of respect. We got to get some respect
here. We're going to need them to put in one hundred or more million
dollars toward the new financing model. So we want to diversify that funding model.
We've got to get the on board of these other states you've seen them
putting in hundreds of millions of dollars with a Tennessee other places that we've got
to compete with, and we're gonna need the state to put in. Now
we know Cleveland is looking at a new stadium, so we're gonna probably have
to do a joint deal with Cleveland to go in. But we're gonna have
to get some state money, and I'm talking for some real money to help
diversify the funding model and take it off the backs of the local taxpayers with
the sales tax. So we've got to get some new we've got to get
private money. We've got to get NFL and I'm saying specifically starting at one
hundred million and upwards as they're doing in these other markets. And we are
firm about trying to get a new funding model. So tomorrow at our meeting
at one o'clock, I've asked Jeff Aludo, the administrator, to walk us
through what we're doing as we're moving forward, because it's time to sit down
and figure out how we're moving forward. Uh, and certainly always going to
all negotiations. I'm a big Bingles fan. Everybody knows that. But when
I go to the table. I have to go to the table as a
negotiator on behalf of the taxpayers of Hamilton County because we got fans everywhere.
We got fans in Kentucky, right, but they don't have to pay,
like Tony Bender. Tony Bender, Tony Bender wants to pay the dayton They
all want to pay. They want to pay. I talked to Boone.
They all want to give money. They an't want to pay now, Alsia
Rich, we'll help you. Kind of the roadblock at this point has been
in the past anyway, that the Brown family, Katie, Troy, and
of course Mike controls everything. He's like the Dawn, He's like Don Corleone.
Mike Brown worth billions of dollars. They want to put it as little
as possible. Now, when you approach Katie Blackburn and Troy and Mike and
the rest of them and say, hey, we need two hundred million from
the NFL, we need one hundred million maybe from the state of ohioa more,
and the taxpayer has got to be relieved of these burdens. Do you
get a yes, no, maybe, or get the hell out of this
office. What do you get? Well, I don't think we have gotten
there. We've had a meet. I met with Katie and we said,
hey, we want to try to get a deal done. Obviously that we've
got the lawyers and all those folks, Yes, got to go and get
the specifics. But for me, I wanted to just be open and transparent
so the taxpayers kind of know what's going on. The taxpayers did vote for
two stadiums to be built. Where the taxpayers feel they got screwed is when
we got into the least negotiations where they were not present. They didn't know
what was going on, and that's where you know, people felt they got
screwed. And this time I wanted to be open. We just saw what
happened with Kansas City. Kansas City won the Super Bowl and they gave them
a parade and then went to the ballot box and they said, no,
we don't want to pay fifty eight of the taxpayers of Kansas City super Bowl
champs. And they said, no, we don't want to pay the money.
So we want to make sure we're in two. I'm elected by the
taxpayers, I'm elected by the voters of Hamilton County, and so they elected
me to be one of their representatives. So I have to represent what the
case is, what the tone is, and for what I've been hearing the
people I've been around and people are coming. They're saying that we can't go
with the same deal. And the person who pushed that deal is no longer
a county commission, So we know that the people don't like that deal.
So we've got to come to the table. And I think back then,
they didn't have these NFL loans, and you remember I wanted to do that
watch party and I said, hey, let's have a watch party so that
we can our fans can watch, you know, before we went to the
super Bowl, and then the Super Bowl and the NFL came in and said
we cannot have a watch party. They said no to Cincinnati, but they
said yes to the Detroit Lions. We can't have that kind of disrespect.
So you can't go out here tell us we can't have a watch party,
but you ain't putting no money in we have to have If you're gonna tell
us something like that that you've got to put some skin in the game.
And I just I thought it was terrible. Detroit was watching exactly what I
wanted. Hamilton County. They went to the fans in Detroit and they were
all in the stadium. They were yelling and screaming yay, and they had
a watch party. And I was told was that the NFL and that so
they told me they said it was the NFL said that we could not have
a watch party in Hamilton County and we don't want to have that same thing
where other cities are getting one hundred million and two hundred millions from the NFL
and then they come to Hamilton County and they want to give us twenty five
million, fifty million. We've got to stop the disrespect. And that's part
of the funding model. We've got to have the NFL put more skin in
the game like they're doing other places. We got to get the state to
put some skin in the game like they're doing the other places as well,
and the private sector as well. And then of course there's the role that
the public sector as well. So we're going to talk about looking at a
new funding model. Now, if you're getting one hundred percent or ninety six
percent of you're getting all the revenues and you're putting in four and six percent
of, sure you would love to keep the second thing absolutely, it's kind
of equal. I got mad at them, Alicia. It's an equal deal.
The Bengals keep all the revenue and the taxpayer has all the expenses,
kind of like a fifty to fifty deal. We keep the money and you
pay the bills. It's a wonderful model. Yeah, yeah, it's a
wonderful model for them, where we own the stadium when the gas and electric
and all the bills come, and then they own the stadium when all the
revenue come. And we just want to have a more of what they call
partnership, and a partnership is a fifty to fifty type of situation where both
people benefit. So we're trying to work towards that. And then I want
to get more events in the stadiums. Right now, I was down there
at the stadium, is sitting there. We ain't gotten using weekends go by,
we don't have anything. We got to do more than just one concert
a year, two concerts a year. Taylor Sweveland has got the WWE smash
Fest that's bringing one hundred thousand people to Cleveland, Ohio, and we didn't
even go after it. I mean, we've got to do more than just
one concert and two concerts a year and one season, and then we pay
bills while the thing is sitting empty. So in there we also want to
have a third party that knows how to get multiple concerts, be able to
get multiple events so we can bring more revenue and take the tax burden off
the a Lisha, are you ready for the big question in the middle of
this? Are you ready for the big question? Oh? Oh? Do
you have a sense that the Brown family wants to stay in Cincinnati and work
out a deal or do you have a sense the Brown family wants to sell
or move the team? The big question is do you have a sense the
Brown family wants to stay here? You know, I can't speak for the
Brown family. We are just going to be going into these negotiations. I
would hope that they want to say I think they have said it's the administrator
communicated to us if they want to stay. I think our goal when you
go to negotiate, we want to have a try to have a deal where
they do stay. We appreciate it, we love we do love our Bengals.
We just got to get a better deal. And I think we can
get there if everybody comes to the table and says, hey, let's roll
up our sleeves and try to get a win win. I learned that when
I interned at Procter and Gamble. They taught me the first thing in negotiations,
try to get a win win, and that's what I want. I
want to win for the Bengals, but I want to also a win for
the taxpayers, a right the county, and I think we can get there.
Here's the second big question. As you know, next year, the
Bengals on their own can have a five year extension automatically just by sending you
an email. You're the president of the Commission. You're kind of like that
Joe Biden of the Commission. You're the president. They can send you an
email saying, okay, we exercise our five year option, which from this
point gives them six more years no matter what else happens. Isn't that a
wonderful bridge between where we are and where you want to be? And then
on top of that, they can extend it five more. They can extend
it five years after that. And so you keep spending thirty nine million here
and forty million there to upgrade pursu into the lease. But the Bengals have
all the chips on their side of the table. They can say, look,
okay, let's keep talking. You do this, you do this,
you do this, We'll keep the money, you pay the expenses, and
then keep it going for six more years. Isn't that the more likely scenario?
Well, I can't make a prediction they have that. That was the
least that was put together twenty plus years ago. They put an ironclad at
least whoever was in office and around during that time they signed away, you
know, kind of the rights of the taxpayers, and that's unfortunate. But
as we move forward, we can't keep peace mealing. We can't do thirty
nine million is going to do a few seats here, do that, and
we keep chipping away at the taxpayer's expense. So you know, if it
comes to that, then you know there's some our decisions to be made.
But we can't keep chipping away, fixing this, fixing that, doing this,
doing that. And I've told the administrator because when you start chipping away,
that's a new deal that wasn't an the original deal. You can't keep
amending and amending and amending, right, that's a brand new deal and it
has to go back to the taxpayer. So tomorrow you're going to say that,
Jeffaludo, Hey, come in here, tell us where we are.
I can see four or five years from now, they're going to exercise their
one year option in about six months or a year, and they're going to
keep it going five more years. The county's going to keep paying thirty nine
million here and fifty million there because you have to. It's suddenly going to
be the year twenty thirty or twenty thirty one, and they can extend it
five more years if they want. All the chips are on their side of
the table. You're in an inferior bargaining position. Do you understand? Then?
I got you. But also some of those amenities start to become less
and less as we get into the outlining years, and so some of the
things that were iron clad in the first several, you know, years of
decade of the lease, they start to become some of them become less and
less, and there'll be some needs to be able to come to the county
to be able to work out somethings. So you're right, I mean,
they may go that direction. I think it's our responsibility on behalf of the
taxpayers is to provide an alternative that gives you a long term I think it's
important people who are just regular to say you're a landlord. Very few landlords
are going to fix up something if the lease is about the end. If
you are you're renting right now, the landlord very seldom comes in and puts
a brand new deck in and going to put in you know, new paint
until they get a lease that is signed. Well, let's see what happens.
They have to go hand in hand. But if Patrick Humes and Taylor
Swift and the Kelsey brothers couldn't get a von Levy passed in Kansas City,
we got no shot here. But an honor of Barbara Howard Reese and Alisha
Reese. I'm glad you're there, Alisha, to kick some ass and take
some names, and in honor of all your family. Hit it, Tony.
Don't talk about love, Katie, show me the money. Put some
jack, put some jack in this deal. In all the trouble and so
we've been a lot of troubles, a lot of troubles in the county.
Alisha Reese, thank you very much. Thank you. We're gonna report later
on. Let's continue hit it Tony. Alisha went some action, the taxpayer
says, look, but I want to get some too. Hit it.
I can see Katie and Alicia Res dancing again on seven hundred w LW.
Hey there, what's for dinner tonight? Take out again? Remember your last
order, soggy