Speaker 1: Bill Cunningham, the Great America work on. This is a
Speaker 1: wonderful Monday afternoon. The Tri State Reds baseball off today,
Speaker 1: a little bit of our respite until tomorrow Tuesday, Wednesday,
Speaker 1: business special on Thursday. The Seattle teams in town and
Speaker 1: the Reds are hotter than the firecracker right now. One
Speaker 1: to five of the last six they're impregnable. They're unbeatable.
Speaker 1: And now they have the whole team coming back on
Speaker 1: Tuesday tomorrows. The life should be a little bit better.
Speaker 1: But set things up for the American people. There's a sense,
Speaker 1: based upon conversations and based upon leeks out of Columbus,
Speaker 1: that the deal is done. Relative to the Browns getting
Speaker 1: about six hundred and sixty million dollars the Bengals getting
Speaker 1: about maybe three hundred million. When I had on Denise
Speaker 1: tree House, the chair of the Commissioner's Hamley County last week,
Speaker 1: she said it's one third, one third, one third. The
Speaker 1: state gives one third, the Bengals slash NFL gives one third,
Speaker 1: The taxpayers in Hamley County give one third, one third,
Speaker 1: one third, one third, and she's cautiously optimistic it's going
Speaker 1: to pass that one third from the state would be
Speaker 1: about three hundred million dollars. The whole deal about eight
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty eight hundred and sixty million. Of course,
Speaker 1: the price will go up, and when I speak to
Speaker 1: the leaders in Columbus, I'm not sure that's the case.
Speaker 1: There is some apprehension as to whether hard work and
Speaker 1: schleps like Tony Benner should pay sales tax so multi
Speaker 1: billionaires can have their play pens that Tony can't afford
Speaker 1: to watch games. So as a consequence, I wanted to
Speaker 1: have more leadership on and I have calls into Governor
Speaker 1: Mike DeWine and Speak of the House Matt Huffman twice
Speaker 1: last week scheduled to come on the show with me,
Speaker 1: but said let's wait a little bit longer. I won't
Speaker 1: say he canceled. What he wanted to do was wait
Speaker 1: about a week or two. So I kind of want
Speaker 1: to get the insight on what's happening at Columbus with
Speaker 1: the Bengals from Representative Adam Byrd, who's the Assistant Majority
Speaker 1: Floor Leader, is one of the four leaders of the
Speaker 1: House of Representatives. He's at the table when discussions are
Speaker 1: had about dividing up by the monies. And then also
Speaker 1: I might add the Carl Linder would like a chunk
Speaker 1: of so also for some developments next to TQL Stadium.
Speaker 1: In fact, deer Park High School could use some state money.
Speaker 1: I talked to the athletic director at deer Park High School,
Speaker 1: and since the state's handing in all this money, how
Speaker 1: about give him a couple million dollars at deer Park
Speaker 1: High School for the new polo field. But in the meantime,
Speaker 1: Representative Adam Bird of New Richmond more or less, welcome
Speaker 1: again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all, Representative,
Speaker 1: you're at the table. You're the assistant Majority four leader
Speaker 1: in the House. And there was reporting last week that
Speaker 1: the House had approved something in the range of six
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty million dollars or so in bonds to
Speaker 1: be paid over thirty years to give to Jimmy Haslam,
Speaker 1: the owner of the Browns, to move the Cleveland team
Speaker 1: from northern Tokuyhoker County to southern Cauyhoker County as part
Speaker 1: of a multi billion dollar development. So can you generally
Speaker 1: speak to the issue whether the lawmakers in Columbus are
Speaker 1: willing to give the Browns the Bengals, TQL Stadium, Carl Linder,
Speaker 1: and Deer Park High School. Lots of money. What do
Speaker 1: you say about that?
Speaker 2: Hey, No, it's great to be with you today. There's
Speaker 2: a lot in there. You know, personally, I'm in favor
Speaker 2: of money for dear Park High School and whatever they
Speaker 2: need there to keep the Wildcats in option. But you know,
Speaker 2: as far as the deal that the Ohio House approved
Speaker 2: last week, that was six hundred million dollars in bonds.
Speaker 2: But but but remember this bill that that this is
Speaker 2: a deal where the state is going to make money
Speaker 2: or be held even And this this deal for for
Speaker 2: moving the Browns to Brook Park. That the state's part
Speaker 2: of that is only one six of a project that
Speaker 2: is three point six billion in scope. And so the
Speaker 2: Haslm family, the locals, they're putting off a lot of
Speaker 2: money here. And so this is a completely different story.
Speaker 2: In my mind, I'm just one person, but this is
Speaker 2: this is completely different because the state is going to
Speaker 2: be held harmless in that and may even make money.
Speaker 2: And also don't forget that for the state's section of
Speaker 2: this part of this, the Haslm family put up fifty
Speaker 2: million dollars as collateral that will grow in an escrow
Speaker 2: over the next thirty years, whose value. Its value could
Speaker 2: be around two hundred million dollars in the next thirty years.
Speaker 2: So the State of Ohio is holding on to a
Speaker 2: lot of collateral here. We're only putting up one sixth
Speaker 2: of the project, and there's no general revenue fund being
Speaker 2: put into this bill, no general revenue fund being put
Speaker 2: into this project. And I say that at the same
Speaker 2: time that we've given over one hundred million dollars to
Speaker 2: the State Fair. We've already given money to TQL Stadium,
Speaker 2: We've already given money to the Columbus Crew. We've already
Speaker 2: given money to the ATP ten Tennis Center in Mason,
Speaker 2: We've given money to Intel, We've given money to Andrew,
Speaker 2: and we give to projects all over the state of
Speaker 2: Ohio bill. So there's a lot of investment that the
Speaker 2: State of Ohio has made and will continue to make
Speaker 2: because we want Ohio to be a destination state. We
Speaker 2: want this to be a place that retains our citizens
Speaker 2: and people want to come here and it's a great
Speaker 2: place to grow.
Speaker 1: So on the Hanslam deal with the Browns, it passed
Speaker 1: I think by one vote. And when there's some more
Speaker 1: or less vacant land in southern Cayhoga County that produces
Speaker 1: little or no money presently. And so from the state's perspective,
Speaker 1: they look at this undeveloped land in southern Cuyhoga County
Speaker 1: and they can say, Okay, you're we're going to put
Speaker 1: up one sixth of the money you're going to put up.
Speaker 1: And when all this happens in the next two to
Speaker 1: three four years, the sales tax from this brand new
Speaker 1: development that doesn't exist presently would be of such a
Speaker 1: character that the state's going to actually make money. In
Speaker 1: addition to that, the states held harmless because of this
Speaker 1: fifty million in escrow that's going to grow over the
Speaker 1: next thirty years, maybe the two or three hundred million dollars,
Speaker 1: in which case the state's going to lose no money.
Speaker 1: Is that different than the Bengals deal?
Speaker 2: Way different? Bill? And remember when you put a dome stadium,
Speaker 2: and you know the Indianapolis Colts and this dome stadium
Speaker 2: over there that they have been and gobbling up all
Speaker 2: of the big things that come to Midwestern United States.
Speaker 2: And it's time for Ohio to get in this game.
Speaker 2: And so when this happens, if it happens and we
Speaker 2: bring the Super Bowl to Ohio, we bring the NFL
Speaker 2: Draft to Ohio, when you have Monster truck pulls and
Speaker 2: Taylor Swift concerts and and so we're not talking about
Speaker 2: an investment for the Cleveland Browns. We're talking about an
Speaker 2: investment that that's not just ten games a year. We're
Speaker 2: talking about fifty to sixty major events throughout the year.
Speaker 2: And so this is going to present such tax benefit
Speaker 2: to the state of Ohio that will we'll make money
Speaker 2: on this deal. And again, Bill, your reader, your listeners
Speaker 2: need to know that this is not costing the general
Speaker 2: revenue one dime, Okay, not one dime, and this is
Speaker 2: all bond money that we are going to make back
Speaker 2: and perhaps double what the cost is over the next
Speaker 2: you know, a couple of decades with the kinds of
Speaker 2: events that we're going to attract you Ohio.
Speaker 1: So right now, there's no deal for the Bengals as
Speaker 1: we sit here this Monday afternoon, there's no long document
Speaker 1: that says, okay, the Bengals are great to stay. The
Speaker 1: county agrees, everything's negotiated, it's done. All we need is
Speaker 1: one third from the state. Am I correct in making
Speaker 1: that statement, you.
Speaker 2: Are absolutely correct. There is no deal done. And let
Speaker 2: me tell you something here, Bill, I'm just one guy, okay,
Speaker 2: but I'm not in favor of a deal for the
Speaker 2: Bengals until we get a couple of conditions in place.
Speaker 2: Number One, the least with Hamilton County, in my mind
Speaker 2: and my way of thinking, needs to be renegotiated because
Speaker 2: this is among the NFL's worst for taxpayers in all
Speaker 2: of America. The Bengals retain all the stadium revenue, all
Speaker 2: the concessions, all the parking, all the merchandise, They the
Speaker 2: least that they have mandates, capital improvements, all of the
Speaker 2: game day expenses are paid by Hamilton County. And guess what, Bill,
Speaker 2: they named the pay Course Stadium and they're making money
Speaker 2: off of that when they don't even own the stadium, okay,
Speaker 2: And so all of the while, the Cincinnati Bengals valuation
Speaker 2: has grown from like five hundred million back in the
Speaker 2: nineties to four to five billion dollars today. And I
Speaker 2: don't think that's a fair deal at all for them
Speaker 2: to have every everything leveraged against Hamilton County. So why
Speaker 2: would the state participate in a deal that is so
Speaker 2: unfavorable the taxpayers, and many consider the worst in the NFL.
Speaker 2: That's number one. Number two, if we can get this
Speaker 2: renegotiated so it's not so poor for the taxpayers. Number two,
Speaker 2: Cincinnati Bengals present a deal to the state where the
Speaker 2: state can make money or at least be held even,
Speaker 2: and you make those two Again, I'm just one person bill,
Speaker 2: but those two conditions I think are reasonable for the
Speaker 2: state of ohiore And.
Speaker 1: In the Browns case, this is a thirty year bond. This,
Speaker 1: as I understand deal, the money from the state needs
Speaker 1: to come up real soon because they want to redo
Speaker 1: pay Course stadium and they need the money now to
Speaker 1: make it look better. Unlike the Browns deal, this deal
Speaker 1: is we need two hundred and fifty three hundred million
Speaker 1: dollars now. And the Governor, Mike DeWine. I have a
Speaker 1: call in to him to come on either Tuesday or Wednesday,
Speaker 1: But Governor Mike Dwine has said that this is a
Speaker 1: low priority. Have you in your meetings with Matt Huffman,
Speaker 1: the Speaker, and with Mike DeWine, have they expressed concerns
Speaker 1: about using public money middle class sales tax money to
Speaker 1: benefit billionaires when it doesn't look as if there's going
Speaker 1: to be a return other than Joe Burrow winning the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, which would be a great I'm all in
Speaker 1: favor of the Bengals State. I think even though you
Speaker 1: live in New Richmond, I think you want the Bengals
Speaker 1: to stay. But in my correcting, state of the money
Speaker 1: to Cleveland is paid in such a way the state
Speaker 1: will actually make money. The money here must be given
Speaker 1: up front.
Speaker 2: Well, you're stating a lot accurate there, Bill. I understand
Speaker 2: that the Cincinnati Bengals are regional draw and they get
Speaker 2: people from Kentucky and Indiana and all parts of Southern
Speaker 2: Ohio that come to And yeah, I want nice things
Speaker 2: for our area, for Southern Ohio, and I do want
Speaker 2: it to be a destination and a place for people
Speaker 2: to go. But as you said, they were wanting general
Speaker 2: revenue fund dollars up front, Bill, and that's just not
Speaker 2: going to happen. We did not spend any of the
Speaker 2: taxpayer's money on this Cleveland Browns deal, which by the way,
Speaker 2: hasn't been approved. It's only been through one chamber. It's
Speaker 2: still got to be approved in the Senate, and the
Speaker 2: governor still has to sign it. And this does not
Speaker 2: give any general revenue tax money to the Browns, and
Speaker 2: I don't believe that we should give any The same
Speaker 2: thing should be true for the Bengals. We should not
Speaker 2: be giving hard working taxpayer money for this project unless
Speaker 2: a couple of demands are meant. Number one, this is
Speaker 2: me you can build, but this stadium leaves with Hamilton
Speaker 2: County gets the worst in the NFL. And why would
Speaker 2: we throw good money after a bad lease. We have
Speaker 2: to have that lease renewed, in my mind, and we
Speaker 2: need a deal where they present a plan to us
Speaker 2: where the state makes money or is held even, and
Speaker 2: we're not using taxpayer dollars to do it.
Speaker 1: Could you bond the three hundred million dollars the Bengals
Speaker 1: won over time? Could you much like in the Cleveland deal?
Speaker 1: And I have a sense I don't know. Maybe the
Speaker 1: deal will be struck tomorrow, Maybe the Bengals in the
Speaker 1: county will come together. Here's the deal. It's eight hundred
Speaker 1: pages long, it's all written. Everybody agrees, contingent upon the state.
Speaker 1: If all that happens in the next few weeks, June
Speaker 1: thirtieth is kind of like a cutoff date because for
Speaker 1: you in leadership of the House. The two year budget
Speaker 1: begins July first of twenty twenty five until July first,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven, and so the train's going to leave
Speaker 1: the station soon plus all out or near that date.
Speaker 1: The Bengals have to notify the county if they want
Speaker 1: to extend the least for two more years, in which
Speaker 1: case under the old lease, which gets worse and worse
Speaker 1: and worse. And so if all this comes together in
Speaker 1: the next two or three weeks in inner page lease
Speaker 1: understanding passed by the Commission, are you willing to bond
Speaker 1: that money over the next thirty years like in the
Speaker 1: Browns deal.
Speaker 2: What I would say, Bill is cincinti. Bengals present a
Speaker 2: plan that shows the state making money or held even,
Speaker 2: and you're right about the timing. The timing is very short.
Speaker 2: And I would say that the has one family in
Speaker 2: the Cleveland Browns have been very proactive in working this
Speaker 2: for the last year or so, and so now it
Speaker 2: seems I don't have any proof of this, but it
Speaker 2: seems like the Bengals are trying to parachute in at
Speaker 2: the last second. They have not talked a deal, they
Speaker 2: have not met any of these things that I have
Speaker 2: suggested should be in place beforehand. But the time is
Speaker 2: of essence right now, and the State Senate's considering the
Speaker 2: budget right now. Over the next month, they'll pass a
Speaker 2: budget that that changes what the House did, or they'll
Speaker 2: late and leave something the same. Then the two chambers
Speaker 2: will get together and negotiate the differences, and then the
Speaker 2: governor gets the line item veto and all of that,
Speaker 2: and then we have to all of that has to
Speaker 2: be done by the end of June built and so
Speaker 2: the time is time is running short, and and and
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know. The Bengals are used to
Speaker 2: getting whatever they want with Hamilton County, so I don't
Speaker 2: I personally don't know that there that Hamilton County is
Speaker 2: going to be able to be able to negotiate any
Speaker 2: friendlier terms than than what is right now. That the
Speaker 2: NFL's worse for taxpayers.
Speaker 1: And if that's not a complete redoing of that lease
Speaker 1: leadership of the House, is am I correct in stating
Speaker 1: if the status quo is more or less maintained, that
Speaker 1: dog won't hunt in Columbus.
Speaker 2: Well, Bill, I'm just one person, Okay, I'm not talking
Speaker 2: to anybody else. I'm just one vote out of ninety nine.
Speaker 2: And and to me, though, I think we recognize I do,
Speaker 2: I recognize that this lease is not good for the taxpayers,
Speaker 2: and and so there needs to be a change there
Speaker 2: in my mind. But again, I'm just one vote. Show
Speaker 2: us mingles, show us a deal where the state makes
Speaker 2: money or held even and and present that. And don't
Speaker 2: you know if you just come and say, hey, I
Speaker 2: want and fifty million dollars, I don't think there's going
Speaker 2: to be any appetite at all at all in the
Speaker 2: House or the Senate. I suspect Senator Blessing from Hamilton
Speaker 2: County is going to be opposed to any general revenue
Speaker 2: dollars for the Bengals as well.
Speaker 1: And then the line item veto is kind of a
Speaker 1: little bit on the weeds. But if the governor can
Speaker 1: line item veto something out, and the governor's not not
Speaker 1: keen on any of these deals, it would take a
Speaker 1: sixty vote in the House and Senate to override the
Speaker 1: governor's veto. Is that correct?
Speaker 2: That is correct, Bill, And I would say that there's
Speaker 2: probably not a six there's not sixty votes in the
Speaker 2: House to override the governor's veto. On this particular issue.
Speaker 1: Okay, well, let's see what happens. He could do that, now,
Speaker 1: the governor, he.
Speaker 2: Could line item veto that. We'll see what happens. But
Speaker 2: you know, again, I'm not opposed to nice things for
Speaker 2: southern Ohio. I would love to see the Bengals be
Speaker 2: a place that attracts people from all over Central you know,
Speaker 2: Ohio and Kentucky and Indiana. Sure, and you know we
Speaker 2: have people who come here all the time for game days.
Speaker 2: But this, here's another part of the Bengals steel bill
Speaker 2: that I find particularly offensive, the deal that they hit
Speaker 2: with Hamilton County. Hamilton County can't schedule any events there
Speaker 2: without the Bengals being able to veto anything else. Why
Speaker 2: why can't Why does an organization that doesn't own the stadium?
Speaker 2: Why do they get complete veto over the scheduling of
Speaker 2: any events in a stadium that they don't own.
Speaker 1: Well, the landlord normally pays for the ban. The landlord
Speaker 1: normally calls the tune. Except in this lace, the opposite
Speaker 1: is true. The Bengals have complete control over a stadium
Speaker 1: they don't own.
Speaker 2: There, you go, all right, Well, at.
Speaker 1: Least that's a reality check from Adam Bird, Assistant Majority
Speaker 1: Floor a leader and lastly, about a minute remaining. New
Speaker 1: Richmond has recovered magnificently from the flood. Tell me the
Speaker 1: status of New Richmond this Monday afternoon.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, Bill, the people have come together. I'm
Speaker 2: just really again proud of the resilience of my town.
Speaker 2: And you know, there's so many people at school, kids
Speaker 2: have come together, Volunteers have come together, and you know,
Speaker 2: it's a hard working place of people who love the river.
Speaker 2: And I'm just really proud of the way that they
Speaker 2: continue to bounce back. And so you and I got
Speaker 2: to meet and get together at the Front Street Cafe
Speaker 2: and have a workshop or something.
Speaker 1: I love it there and I'm going to come up soon.
Speaker 1: I didn't want to come this week and I think
Speaker 1: it was open, but I'm sure things are going to
Speaker 1: be better on a warm June evening. But stay representative.
Speaker 1: Adam Bird, you're at the table in the leadership. I
Speaker 1: think you're bringing reality to these issues and a lot
Speaker 1: of talking needs to be done and a lot of
Speaker 1: hurdles have to be overcome in a short period of time.
Speaker 1: We'll see what happens. Hope springs eternal and Adam Bird,
Speaker 1: State Rep. Once again, thank you for coming on the
Speaker 1: Bill Cunningham Show.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Adam, Bill. It's always an honor and I
Speaker 2: can see it for some you me, Bryson d. Chambeau
Speaker 2: and Rory Okay, and.
Speaker 1: I'll take Rory in that match. Take no, I'll take
Speaker 1: him because that story with yesterday was unbelievable, how he
Speaker 1: was gonna win, He's gonna lose, hes gonna win, gonna lose,
Speaker 1: then he's gonna win, and it was dramatic television. But
Speaker 1: to Adam Bird, thank you very much and God bless you.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much. All Right, let's continue with more
Speaker 1: if a line becomes available five one, three, seven, four, nine,
Speaker 1: seven thousand, that, my fellow Americans, is a dose of
Speaker 1: reality on seven hundred WULW