Speaker 1: My Billy cunning him the Great America, and welcome to
Speaker 1: this hot, glorious Wednesday afternoon in the tri State. Of course,
Speaker 1: Reds Baseball won dramatic passion last night. Tommy Thrall was
Speaker 1: going nuts on the radio. Back out of again tonight,
Speaker 1: first pitch about six forty. Airtime with US is about
Speaker 1: five forty. The Reds drive maybe to go to fifty
Speaker 1: to fifty in the season. Only a few games remain,
Speaker 1: Let's see what happens. But until then, of course, once again,
Speaker 1: this is like a recurring herpes infection. We'll back to
Speaker 1: pay Course Stadium. Here we are some thirty years later,
Speaker 1: back again, and Brian Hamm recovered it all for Channel
Speaker 1: five along with Tom Gableman representing I guess the commissioners,
Speaker 1: and also he's a specialty on it. We have this
Speaker 1: big elaborate plan, many pages long. Everything's going to work.
Speaker 1: It's only about one point two five billion dollars, and
Speaker 1: of course he had another thirty forty percent for cost overruns.
Speaker 1: And who's going to pay for it? Nobody cares. It
Speaker 1: looks great, wonderful looking stadium. Only issue is well Mike
Speaker 1: Brown and the Bengals agree and that's maybe a different issue.
Speaker 1: It may be a little more difficult to get that
Speaker 1: for Brian Hamrick. Welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show,
Speaker 1: and Brian, how are you.
Speaker 2: I'm good. Thanks again, mister Cunningham.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about can you give us an overview about
Speaker 1: what happened yesterday and when we look forward to a
Speaker 1: long term guaranteed bonus Layton lease signed by Mike Brown
Speaker 1: and the Bengals. Give us an overview, Brian Hamrick, if
Speaker 1: you can. Of course, you were here some thirty years ago,
Speaker 1: as I was with you at that point talking about
Speaker 1: the same thing. And it seems to me like the
Speaker 1: Great American Ballpark, also owned by the county, has no
Speaker 1: issues whatsoever at any point. I can't recall any problems
Speaker 1: on the lease, and I guess it's going to be
Speaker 1: renewed soon, no problems at all. But the Bengals and
Speaker 1: pay Courts continues to be a difficulty give the American
Speaker 1: people a full report.
Speaker 2: It's another you know, it's another situation over there. You
Speaker 2: know what that's about less than a half mile away,
Speaker 2: and you might as well be a thousand miles away
Speaker 2: in terms of the way things are handled and treated
Speaker 2: and uh, it just seems different. Yeah, Well, this ms
Speaker 2: A sport or a Cincinnati company h one of the
Speaker 2: top in the country for designing sports facilities, and they
Speaker 2: came up with a plan what they think would be,
Speaker 2: you know, top among NFL teams. What NFL teams want
Speaker 2: to see. They they presented, Uh a while back, there
Speaker 2: was a presentation of here's what really is trending in
Speaker 2: the NFL.
Speaker 3: What NFL teams.
Speaker 2: So this firm then came up with, you know, the
Speaker 2: concrete ideas for what could happen down there. Uh, if
Speaker 2: you have one point two five.
Speaker 3: Billion billion dollars to do it with billion dollars?
Speaker 1: Well, I guess were the Bengals involved in formulating the
Speaker 1: plan or were they left out? And they're kind of
Speaker 1: told by the county what it looks like. Are the
Speaker 1: Bengals involved in the.
Speaker 3: Well, it's a little unclear.
Speaker 2: I think they have money maybe in the.
Speaker 3: Design and paying this firm.
Speaker 2: And look, you guys come up with what we want.
Speaker 2: But it sounds a little like nobody's really guiding this
Speaker 2: to specifics. It's sort of like you come up with
Speaker 2: an idea, lay your offerings at the feet of the Bengals.
Speaker 3: And we will deny or accept.
Speaker 2: You know, So that's kind of the way it looks.
Speaker 2: The King wants to see your offerings. What have you brought?
Speaker 1: Kind of the Kim John Unn, May I approach the bench,
Speaker 1: get on your knees, crawl on your belly, and see
Speaker 1: if we accept what's coming. And by the way, you're
Speaker 1: paying for it. The first go around was ninety to
Speaker 1: ninety five percent by the tax. By the way, the
Speaker 1: NFL is the most profitable, profitable franchise, the most important
Speaker 1: franchise in the history of the world. There's billions and
Speaker 1: billions and billions of dollars flying around. The Bengals are
Speaker 1: now worth about five to six billion dollars, multi billionaires,
Speaker 1: and all we have are the bills basically, and they
Speaker 1: have the revenue. Well, that change because normally, if there's
Speaker 1: that much money flying around, why should the taxpayer not
Speaker 1: participate in the in the ingredients and the meal that
Speaker 1: they're providing all the ingredients for.
Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying. Why is that not the case?
Speaker 3: Well, it all comes down to this.
Speaker 2: You know, the Bengals have said in the past basically.
Speaker 3: That they're willing to walk.
Speaker 2: There's other towns that could support this team, and other
Speaker 2: towns that are waiting, probably with the check book right now,
Speaker 2: to write them a check for a new stadium, state
Speaker 2: of the art. You know, you saw that with you know,
Speaker 2: Oakland went out to you know, Las Vegas.
Speaker 3: You've seen other.
Speaker 2: Communities do this. You've seen you know, down in San.
Speaker 3: Diego, they're looking for a team right now.
Speaker 2: They wouldn't deal with what they wanted to out there,
Speaker 2: and then they lost the team go up to Los Angeles.
Speaker 2: You know, it's been said that, you know, the Brown
Speaker 2: family loves San Diego in that area, so you know
Speaker 2: that would be a possibility. Maybe they work a deal
Speaker 2: out there. I mean, the weather's great. If you're not
Speaker 2: paying taxes, you're getting all this, you're making money, and
Speaker 2: you can.
Speaker 3: Live out there.
Speaker 2: You know what, it isn't so bad. But when you
Speaker 2: have the team and all these teams are willing, It's
Speaker 2: not just the Bengals, all the teams are willing to
Speaker 2: say we're ready to walk. And when you have them
Speaker 2: pretty much over a barrel. They want this team. The
Speaker 2: fans here love the Bengals.
Speaker 3: They want the Bengals.
Speaker 4: Here, yep ye.
Speaker 3: But at what cost is the question?
Speaker 2: And that's what, and that's what the answer that has
Speaker 2: to be given by the taxpayers of Hamilton County.
Speaker 1: When I talked to Governor Mike DeWine, you know, the
Speaker 1: state's willing to participate. The NFL has a fund ready
Speaker 1: to participate. The county sales tax continuing and infinitum, despite
Speaker 1: the fact that property rollback did not happen. And on
Speaker 1: the other side, you have the Bengals. As you said,
Speaker 1: dozens of American cities would love to have them. We
Speaker 1: want to do everything possible to keep the Bengals. The
Speaker 1: original cost of the stadium was about five hundred and
Speaker 1: fifty million. Now it's more than two and a half times,
Speaker 1: not just to renovate it. The costs are skyrocketing, and
Speaker 1: the value of these franchises have skyrocketed. I think the
Speaker 1: Brown family has about fifty million dollars into it. Now
Speaker 1: it's worth one hundred times that. It's worth five or
Speaker 1: six billion or more. And then layer on top of
Speaker 1: that the age of Mike Brown. He's approaching ninety years old.
Speaker 1: The new generation is ready to take over, and I
Speaker 1: have every sense that Katie and Troy and the kids
Speaker 1: want to remain in Cincinnati. They're Cincinnatians and they want
Speaker 1: to remain here. But at Lesha reason is the one
Speaker 1: that says that what price Jefferludo's talking about the Bengals
Speaker 1: putting up forty to fifty percent of the deal. That
Speaker 1: means the Bengals. Bengals would have to put up about
Speaker 1: five to six hundred million dollars to stay in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: and then the county would put up some money, and
Speaker 1: the state's going to put up some money, but not
Speaker 1: to the tune of one point twenty five billion. This
Speaker 1: is going to play out over the next five to
Speaker 1: six years because there's a five year renewal coming up
Speaker 1: that the Bengals are going to sign into, which keeps
Speaker 1: the present bad deal in place. So we're looking forward
Speaker 1: to another six or seven years of the same stuff
Speaker 1: until there's a long term guaranteed a lease, which the
Speaker 1: Bengals don't want to do until they see what this
Speaker 1: what the funding mechanism is. And I'm not sure that
Speaker 1: the political character of the of the current Commissions commissioners
Speaker 1: fit in with the button down Tafts. It's Eneus and
Speaker 1: Hollister approach of the Bengals. That's a secondary matter. Answer
Speaker 1: this question, Brian Hamrick, why don't we have the same
Speaker 1: difficulties with my ballpark, the Great American? Why is one
Speaker 1: is always an angst and the other one things are
Speaker 1: handled quietly below the surface, and the Castellinis keep on
Speaker 1: keeping on.
Speaker 2: Why Well, I mean you just have to imagine that
Speaker 2: they're they're more willing to work with. I think that
Speaker 2: the countings felt like they've been more equitable over there.
Speaker 3: I mean the lease deal.
Speaker 2: I mean of a number of stuff these independent of
Speaker 2: the Bengals that look at all these stadium deals, a
Speaker 2: number of them, you know, and one of them comes
Speaker 2: out all the time says, this is the worst deal.
Speaker 2: The taxpayers got the worst deal with this one of
Speaker 2: any across the country. I mean, you know, we all
Speaker 2: expect that it's going to be you're going to have
Speaker 2: to pay a certain amount and all that, but this
Speaker 2: is consistently comes up as one of the worst, if
Speaker 2: not the worst. Like in every one of these listings
Speaker 2: of what's happening, I mean there's there's things like like
Speaker 2: the county, well like when they got pay Corps put
Speaker 2: on the side of the stadium.
Speaker 3: Over there, Well, the county.
Speaker 2: Doesn't even have to they don't even get to know
Speaker 2: how much they got out of that. The county didn't
Speaker 2: know what they made off of that, and and the
Speaker 2: county it's none of it. It's a sign hanging on
Speaker 2: the stadium that the county owns, and they don't get
Speaker 2: any money for it, you know.
Speaker 3: I mean it's things like that.
Speaker 2: It's that, you know, the county pays all the money.
Speaker 2: It's at leash Reese has been, you know, going off
Speaker 2: over this whole thing where they wanted to have a
Speaker 2: watch party. They couldn't do it, couldn't get it done,
Speaker 2: no way it could be done. And then all of
Speaker 2: a sudden there's a watch party in here and they're
Speaker 2: charging ninety nine dollars a person to do it.
Speaker 3: You know, like that, This.
Speaker 4: Is why, you know, one of the best parties.
Speaker 3: Oh look, it is all legit. It's all in that.
Speaker 2: You look at that contract is legit.
Speaker 4: I'm sure all of it.
Speaker 1: Well, you know, one of the best elements of this
Speaker 1: is that the guy on behalf of the taxpayer negotiating
Speaker 1: the deal with Mike Brown and the Bengals, when when
Speaker 1: he was kicked out of office, he changed jerseys and
Speaker 1: started working for the Bengals. So the County commissioner and
Speaker 1: negotiated the deal with Mike Brown after he was kicked
Speaker 1: out of office, runs to the Bengals and they hire
Speaker 1: him as a consultant.
Speaker 4: That's beautiful. That is unbelievable.
Speaker 2: I mean you have to wonder. I mean, I guess
Speaker 2: there's no law against that thing. You negotiate some big contract.
Speaker 2: We're talking up five hundred a million dollars contract at
Speaker 2: the time. You negotiate that, and then you go to
Speaker 2: work for the company that you negotiated with.
Speaker 4: That that just doesn't.
Speaker 2: Seem I mean, that seems something really odd about that
Speaker 2: and the way it was set up initially. Now they
Speaker 2: don't do it anymore. But remember, for years, I can't
Speaker 2: remember how many, maybe the first ten years, if the
Speaker 2: Bengals didn't sell the seat, the county had to buy
Speaker 2: those seats. Beautiful, but they had to sell ut the
Speaker 2: stadium and the county had to buy them.
Speaker 3: If they didn't sell this stadium.
Speaker 1: Well, I think we're going to talk about this for
Speaker 1: the next several years, and so we'll see what happens
Speaker 1: down the road. But every time you negotiate with Mike Brown,
Speaker 1: whether the I R. S or Hamley County you come
Speaker 1: out wearing a barrel around. You have no clothes left,
Speaker 1: you have no shoes, you have no car. He wins
Speaker 1: every time. It's unbelievable. He makes Darth Vader look like
Speaker 1: an amateur.
Speaker 4: But alright, let's well.
Speaker 2: I will say they're great at negotiations. Oh yeah, he
Speaker 2: sometimes don't have on the field. Well, you go and
Speaker 2: look at what they do as.
Speaker 4: A business, superl super Bowl.
Speaker 3: They are taught there.
Speaker 2: They are Super Bowl contenders with every single one of
Speaker 2: these deals, and that's the way they play them.
Speaker 1: We've got to get Mike Brown over to the Middle
Speaker 1: East and resolve that little problem between Hesbla Israel.
Speaker 3: Hamas probably could do.
Speaker 4: Mike Brown, get over there. It's all done.
Speaker 1: There's piece and there's olive orchards growing up in the Goza.
Speaker 1: Mike Brown is the best there ever was ever will be. Secondly,
Speaker 1: give me an update. Tony Bender wants to know. He
Speaker 1: thinks he is deep roots in Kentucky in this so
Speaker 1: called highway shooter is still underground somewhere running around and
Speaker 1: they can't find the guy. They got the bloodhounds out,
Speaker 1: but can't find this guy who wounded five people in
Speaker 1: interstate I seventy five high school games are being canceled.
Speaker 1: What's the latest with the mole and the mole in Kentucky?
Speaker 2: Well, yeah, so there's Joseph Couch open fire hitting. They
Speaker 2: now know seventeen vehicles, at least seventeen.
Speaker 3: There may be more.
Speaker 2: People are still coming in with complaints and finding bullet
Speaker 2: holes in their cars that didn't realize we're there.
Speaker 3: This guy squirrels off.
Speaker 2: Into the woods Daniel Boone National.
Speaker 3: Forest and is thick. I mean it is it going
Speaker 3: through that.
Speaker 2: They took us up there the other day, put us
Speaker 2: in bullet fruit proof vests and helmets when we went
Speaker 2: up there, because and on where this guy is. They
Speaker 2: have no idea and I ain't think he was where
Speaker 2: we were, but they were requiring that as a safety precaution.
Speaker 3: So we went up there. Sawry had parked the car.
Speaker 2: Saw the sickness of all this. Sawry had to go
Speaker 2: to get to the overlook about three hundred yards away
Speaker 2: to get to the overlook and shoot down on the vehicles.
Speaker 2: But he went off into the woods like a rabbit
Speaker 2: and has not been been seen since, and they're still
Speaker 2: looking for him. They tracked him with dogs and what
Speaker 2: they basically ended up telling us is they track.
Speaker 3: Them with dogs. They went down there into the.
Speaker 4: Woods for days, bloodhouse.
Speaker 2: Finally they told us four days. They were so convinced
Speaker 2: and are like, we can't say it's mister Colts, but
Speaker 2: these dogs generally don't list.
Speaker 3: I mean, these dogs are.
Speaker 2: Really good, and so they followed them, and based on that,
Speaker 2: they have now moved their command post to a separate
Speaker 2: area in the direction where they think that he may
Speaker 2: have gone to. They didn't say what direction that was,
Speaker 2: but they did say it was deeper into the forest.
Speaker 2: So they think that's why they think he's still in
Speaker 2: those woods right now, rather than dead, or rather than
Speaker 2: somewhere else.
Speaker 1: You know, Brian, This like the Eric Rudolph situation where
Speaker 1: he lived in the mountains for years finally was caught
Speaker 1: in a dumpster behind a kmart, and I guess this
Speaker 1: guy Ultimately at some point you kind of hunker down,
Speaker 1: see what's going on. Well, Brian Hemrick, are there any
Speaker 1: any of these parties of p Didny these freak outs?
Speaker 1: Any of these things happened at Channel five with the
Speaker 1: Shari Pulo Mike Dartis any freakouts happening there at Channel five?
Speaker 2: What do you think the only freakout we have is
Speaker 2: when the scripts come in late freak out.
Speaker 4: All right, that's unbelievable.
Speaker 1: Once again, Brian Hemrick, thank you for coming on the
Speaker 1: Bill Cunningham Show.
Speaker 2: Thanks again, mister Cunningham.
Speaker 1: All right, that's the best there is, Brian Hamrick of
Speaker 1: the Power of five. We got freakouts, you got the
Speaker 1: Snipers in seventy five, you got the Believe or Not.
Speaker 1: The Bengals lease is back up for the next several years.
Speaker 1: And Mike Brown, he's the best there ever was. Bill
Speaker 1: cunning End the great American with you every day. You're
Speaker 1: Home of the Reds and the Bengals. News Radio seven
Speaker 1: hundred ww