The Cincinnati-Bengals lease ends in 2026.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said after the state and the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills franchise ownership cut a deal for a new Bills stadium in Orchard Park that Toronto and San Diego business people expressed an interest in enticing the Bills ownership to move to those cities. That news is probably not a secret among NFL owners, especially ownership groups in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Jacksonville where there are expiring stadium leases in the near future. Cincinnati is always of interest as there were rumors in the past that the franchise could be on the move. The Bengals lease with Cincinnati is done in five years. But a member of Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds management team, Phil Castellini, does not expect the Bengals ownership will move from the football stadium that shares the same property as the Cincinnati baseball stadium.
“You will not see, in my opinion, either team have an expectation or be seeking new stadiums somewhere else. We will not do a move to the ‘burbs. One man’s opinion, both teams are going to be renovating their stadiums on site, on premise.” The NFL is getting public money to build a new stadium in the Buffalo market and for a Baltimore Ravens stadium renovation. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is looking for hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to go toward the construction of a new stadium in Nashville for the Tennessee Titans franchise. Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington Commanders NFL franchise and a person who is being investigated by the league and Congress for what might be considered shady business practices and workplace harassment, has Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D. C. politicians chasing him with wheelbarrows of money to help fund a Commanders’ football stadium somewhere in the District, or Maryland or Virginia. Jacksonville’s ownership wants a better facility. Tis the season.
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