WhoDeyRevolution

More on UC vs the Bengals

Claims.  Counterclaims.  Awesome comments.  Lots has been said so far about the UC and Bengals situation but more clarification is needed.  So here goes:

We originally posted that UC and the Bengals are having some difficulty settling on two things:  1) Potential use of PBS and 2) An offer to build an indoor practice facility.

Bill Koch of the Enquirer spoke with UC official Bob Arkeilpane who played down any rumors.  You can read what we think of that article here.  The key points are the following:  1) Bob claims UC has not tried to move '09 games to PBS, 2) The Bengals approached UC about moving games there, 3) Discussions never got to the point of fees, 4) UC's desire is to play at Nippert, 5) UC is investigating the costs of renovating Nippert and 6) UC approached the Bengals about a practice facility but the Bengals did not express interest at this time.

Got that?

More recently, Lance McAlister outlined on his blog comments on this issue from a Bengals executive. 

The key points to this post are:  1) The Bengals offered UC the basically the same rent terms as UK/Miami, 2) The Bengals reached out to UC about the '09 WVA & Louisville games for NFL scheduling reasons, 3)The Bengals have been proactive towards UC but UC prefers Nippert to PBS, 4) The Bengals and Hamilton County split 50%/50% revenues from rent, suite sales, and parking for all "other events" held at PBS and 5) The Miami/UK game was negotiated with Brad Bates (Miami AD) for almost four years.

Got that, too?

(Lance also includes the fee schedule charged to Miami/UK for use of PBS which is really interesting but not relevant - it'll be for another post - to our discussion)

So what to make of these comments from UC and the Bengals?  Here is what WDR believes are the salient points:

1. Both sources confirm that the Bengals reached out to UC about playing games in '09 at PBS and UC was not interested.  UC preferred to play at Nippert and there is no reason to doubt that.  HOWEVER, the key point here is that these discussions both parties mentioned happened before the high cost of renovating Nippert was known.  At least, that is WDR's understanding of the situation.  The expenses required for renovation make PBS a more attractive option than UC originally believed so prior talks are not relevant.

2. In UC's statement, Arkeilpane claims the discussion for rent never reached the point of fees.  However, the Bengals (via Lance) claim they offered preliminary terms similar to the UK-Miami game.  This is inconsistent.

3. The only fees discussed by either party concern single game events:  UC v OSU (2002) and Miami v UK.  However, the pricing WDR is concerned with are for multiple games, where UC effectively "rents" PBS (more similar to the Pitt and South Florida arrangements we mentioned).  One would assume the pricing for single, big-name games versus multiple games would be different (quantity/quality discount).  This may help explain the discrepancy in the 5 times the normal rent claim in our original post:  we're comparing a single game price to a multiple game price. 

4. And why UK v Miami would be a relevant benchmark for fees charged to UC for multiple games is perplexing given the very different nature of their situations.  It is virtually impossible for Miami to attract BCS teams to play them at Yeager so if they want a marquee opponent at a home game they must look elsewhere (less negotiating leverage).

5. While the Bengals have disclosed their fees for one time usage of the stadium they do not, however, disclose if they make those using the stadium pay for the associated game day costs (such as security) which can be quite expensive.  Making the 3rd party cover those costs is equivalent to raising your fee so it's very important to find out that part of the story too.

6. Aren't you thrilled that the Bengals get to keep half of all the revenues for 3rd party events that have little to do with them?  Actually, I'll shut up, I should be grateful their lease doesn't give them the rights to all revenues for a stadium the county owns.

7. It took 4 years for the Miami v UK game to get arranged?  Is that a boasting point?  Cause that seems like a shockingly long time to negotiate use for one game.  Obviously a lot goes into that process but price is part of the element - so it seems the two sides were far apart on price for a loooong time.  Though that is admittedly speculation.

8. The indoor practice facility receives barely any attention - only an off hand comment from Bob Arkeilpane.  This issue has not been addressed at all.

So, in sum, while a lot has been said, not much of substance has emerged to refute our original post.  Both sides cleverly dance around the issue without hitting it head on.  So until we find out more about the PBS usage fees for multiple games and what talks are in motion regarding indoor practice facilities, we still see nothing to lead us to believe our original post needs to be materially updated.

If the issues are addressed head on, we'll back off.  But until then....

 

ps - now that the Bengals have disclosed their usage fees, WDR would love to solicit some help researching comparable fees at other publicly funded stadiums.  anyone who can find or help find this information please email us at whodeyrevolution@gmail.com

Mike Brown Enters His Golden Era

Mike Brown has been waiting for this day his whole life. He has saved and screwed and saved for his shining moment. Tomorrow, with the blessing and financial underpinnings of the Clermont County Bureau of Commerce, Brown will be the proud landlord of a 12 store commercial zone on Route 32.

    "It's been a long journey, but someday somehow I knew I could get here." Brown said between raindrop sized tears of joy. "The Bengals Organization was only a stepping stone towards my ultimate goal of running a strip mall anchored with a Denny's and a Men's Wearhouse."

    As of now, the Bengal's franchise has been put in a storage facility near the Lion's Den Porn Outlet off of 71.

    With his family alongside him, Brown will get to cut a big ribbon in half with a big pair of scissors. Coincidentally, the same pair of oversized scissors he has team doctors use when exploring hurt Bengals for their "owwie spot."

"I will leave no stone unturned to make sure that this cropping of land will be competitive in bringing in commuter traffic." Brown said, "Just this morning I met with a potential company. They technically are insolvent but I see a lot of promise and I think with my help they can turn it around at the Browntown Plaza."

Maybe Dr. Nick Would Have Been Better for Levi...

In Doc's TML post today, he notes the following:

Levi Jones was among several prominent Bengals who said not nice things on and (mostly) off the record about the Bengals medical staff. Wonder if he'll have any parting thoughts.

Lack of best in class medical staff and facilities is one of the WDR Manifesto demands.  We at WDR arrived at this manifesto demand mostly through our keen powers of deduction.  Though it's difficult to quantify, it sure seems like there is an abnormal frequency of injuries to our players along with a disturbing slowness or inability to recover fully after suffering injuries.

Like, Doc, I'd be really anxious to hear what Levi has to say when he's gone.  Particularly about his health and medical care.

What's a Bengals victory worth to Mike Brown? About $15.5-million.

This article was posted in Monday's (1/19) Cincinnati Business Courier.  The article says that Bengals merchandise sales went from $108-million in 2007 to $64-million in 2008.  This should be teaching Mike Brown a lesson that even he might be able to learn even if he doesn't have access to the new fangled internetty thing-a-ma-jig ma-gill-a-ma-tron-o-matic: wins equal cash.  And this is a lesson that Mike Brown can't ignore.

Let's check these quick and easy numbers...

2007 - $108-million divided by seven (7) wins = $15.43-million per win
2008 - $64-million divided by four-and-a-half (4.5) wins (figuring the tie is half-a-win) = $14.22-million per win.  If you are a purist, it would $16-million per actual victory. 

Any way you calculate it, in the past two seasons, a win yields about $15.5-million in merchandise sales. 

And why is this?  Fans want to identify with a winner. 

Take University of Cincinnati football as an example.  Nobody cared about UC football until they won the Big East championship and went to a BCS game.  NOW, their gear is popular (and being purchased), they just got a stadium deal (with - GASP! - an indoor practice facility), and they are probably going to start stealing sponsorship dollars away from the Bengals. 

And why is this?  Companies want to be identified with a winner. 

Now, I'm sure that Baghdad Hob is going to post something to the effect of, "The economy has taken effect with the Cincinnati Bengals' pro shop."  And the fact that they landed out of the playoffs for the 17th time in the 18 years that Mike Brown has owned the team will have nothing to do with it. 

And he might have a little bit of a point until you consider this: Arizona Cardinal fans and Pittsburgh Steeler fans are buying gear.  Even in this economy.  Even with shaky employment situations.  Even with no employment situations.  Even with foreclosed house.  Even with bills piling up.  FANS ARE STILL BUYING GEAR!

And why is this?  Fans want to identify with a winner. 

Massillon High School has better facilities than the Bengals

We wrote about this story in October, but a new more in depth version was just written on Rivals.com, so it's worth revisiting.   Massillon High School, where Paul Brown started coaching, has better training facilities than the Bengals.  You see, Massillon just built an 80,000 sq. ft. indoor practice facility. The building is 20,000 sq. ft bigger than Browns' and 80,000 sq ft. bigger than the Bengals', since Mike Brown has refused to build one for his professional franchise. 

What's worse?  Brown seems amused by the whole scenario.  When told of the building last month, Brown replied: "Massillon High School is ahead of us.  We don't have one."

The Bengals are the northern-most team without such a facility.  And yes, it is colder in Massillon and Cleveland than in Cincinnati, but don't forget that in at the end of the 2003 season, when the Bengals were fighting to make the playoffs, the team was forced to take a bus to Mason, OH to practice in an indoor soccer stadium.   This is a professional football team that makes millions in profit per year!  Practing in an indoor soccer stadium for the Bengals biggest game in 15 years! 

Maybe Brown has decided that the Bengals aren't going to be playing much in January so there is no need for an indoor practice stadium.  But when you tell others that Mike Brown is cheap, and they respond that the Bengals spend about the league average on players, you remind them that Brown is saving money on other expenses (like scouts, training facilities and coaches) that do not show up under the salary cap.

Defending Paul Brown's Legacy

The Bengals are 0-6, again.  Blame is being put at the feet of many sources (most of them justified) - Bratkowski's play calling and anemic offense, Chris "Binary" Perry's running abilities (Binary because he only runs in 0 and 1 yard clips) and Marvin's hilariously low expectations, among others.  But we here at WDR want to remind you that EVERYTHING filters back to one source - Mike Brown.

The solution to the Bengals issues is quite simple - hire guys who understand football, spend money on scouts, training facilities and medical staff and get the fuck out of the way.

But it is hard to keep banging your head on the wall when Bengals fans have done so for 18 years and nothing has changed.  Then you read a story like this and want to punch Mike Brown right in the throat.

Open Letter to Mike Brown

Bengals fans are encouraged to print and mail this letter to Paul Brown Stadium to display your extreme dissatisfaction with the direction and management of the team.

Mike Brown
Cincinnati Bengals
Owner and President
1 Paul Brown Stadium
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Dear Mr. Brown:

As I hope you acknowledge, you are a lucky man.  You remain an NFL owner and a very rich man despite taking your father's legacy and tarnishing it, taking your city's pride and abusing it and accomplishing  nothing in your professional life on your own merit.   

I, on the other hand, am an unlucky man.  I am a Bengals fan.  For reasons of loyalty or geography or stupidity, I remain a Bengals fan after 18 years without a playoff win under your leadership. For reasons that are inexplicable to me, I continue to ruin my Sunday's in the fall by watching your team lose.   Because of you, I have even brought this burden of being a Bengals fan onto my friends and family.  I spend money on Bengals merchandise I don't need. I help sell out your stadium (actually, my stadium since you extorted taxpayers to pay for it).  I waste countless hours following and debating the smallest details of your team.

And how have you thanked me?  You take my hard-earned money and stuff it into your pockets instead of signing free agents, bulking up our scouting department or upgrading training facilities.  You take my loyalty and refuse to hire a General Manager.  You take my devotion and game after game, year after year, put a team on the field that has no chance of really competing for a Super Bowl. 

Stadium Lease Poised to Strike Again and Again

I’ve long been puzzled as to why the scrooge of Cincinnati wouldn’t sell the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium (Sure his family name on the stadium but the man is legendarily cheap after all.  Just read about how the Bengals would have reporters pick free agents up at the airport or how Ki-Jana caused team morale to soar by buying the locker room new towels that weren’t shrunken and threadbare).

So as I’ve been pondering this I’ve been doing some reading and I came across this recent article on stadium deals.  It lays out how the Rams are about to get hosed into building a new stadium or risk losing their team to relocation.  The article mentions a clause in the Bengals lease I had never heard about before.  The Bengals lease wasn’t really negotiated by adverse parties (typically how contracts are decided - each side arguing their case for the details to favor their organization), but it was just two sides agreeing with each other on how to bilk the taxpayers out of the most money.  Consequently, there are still awful parts of the lease that have yet to be revealed to show just how much the Bengals bent over Hamilton County taxpayers on the lease deal.  This is one of those awful things.

Bengals Practice Rained Out

In more non-Chad Johnson news, the Bengals mini-camp practice on Friday was rained out. Yes, an NFL team could not hold practices because it was raining and they did not have a suitable indoor practice facility.

Compare this with the new privately funded facility in Seattle.

Small Market BS

A classic Bengals excuse for not spending money on free agents, facilities and staffing is because of Cincinnati's market size compared to other NFL teams. This was the same argument they used to negotiate one of the sweetest deals in the NFL. Former Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, who was the cheerleader-in-chief to get public financing of the Reds and Bengals stadium’s said in 2000: “Their concern is, "We will always be operating in a smaller market than many of the other football teams in the NFL.'” 

Bedinghaus is now the Bengals Director of Development for Paul Brown Stadium. You can expect more on this issue soon.

Bengals fans need to stop accepting this reasoning to excuse the Bengals management from their constant griping and penny-pinching. The NFL revenue sharing agreement means that even Isiah Thomas could make money running the Bengals. Unlike other major sports, the NFL’s policy means that funds generated from tickets, merchandise, sponsorships and national media deals (such as the NFL’s TV and Radio contracts) are divided equally between all 32 teams.  

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, lets teams negotiate their own TV contracts, leaving the Yankees with their own TV network (the YES network) and the Reds on Fox Sports Ohio. Guess which team generates more money in this situation?

A recent article in the Enquirer detailed the financial arrangement of Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots. Kraft purchased the team in 1994 for a then NFL record $172 million, then put $350 million of his own money into their new stadium. To recoup this investment, Kraft sold the naming rights to new P&G brand Gillette and is building a mixed use development adjacent to the stadium, at an additional cost to Kraft of $850 million.