The Cincinnati Bengals have called Paycor Stadium—formerly Paul Brown Stadium, named for the franchise's founder—home since it opened in 2000. Executive vice president (and Brown's granddaughter) Katie Blackburn says that she likes the stadium's downtown location and hopes to secure the team's future there, though she made clear that the franchise could leave in just over a year when the lease expires.
The deadline to decide that future, however, is much closer. The Bengals hold options for two- and five-year renewals, but must give the county 12-month notice of their decision, putting the deadline at June 30.
“We love where we are,” Blackburn said at the NFL annual meeting Tuesday, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I'm [a] very big proponent of being in the downtown. I think that's a great thing for the city. I think [the] location [of the] stadium right now is good. Our stadium obviously needs to continue to be maintained appropriately, and you want to keep it at a certain level that's important, just so that we're competitive with others. But you know, at the end of the day, we're playing it one day at a time, and it's just we have to see where it all goes.”
Blackburn hinted that a lease renewal may be contingent on renovations to the stadium. Hamilton County is set to unveil a renovation plan for the stadium in September.
She did not, however, shy away from the idea of the Bengals moving if they can't come to an extension agreement.
“We could, I guess, go wherever we wanted after this year if we didn't pick the up option up," Blackburn said. "So, you know, we'll see. Like I said, all these things will be done in due course. We are having discussions, and so we're hopeful that the county is thinking about it a lot too and wants to get it addressed in a way that would be beneficial to both of us.”
NFL stadiums continue to be a contentious issue around the league, including for some of its biggest franchises. The Bears are weighing multiple stadium sites in the Chicago area. The Kansas City Chiefs could move to the Kansas side of the border after Missouri voters rejected an Arrowhead Stadium renovation proposal. Cincinnati's intrastate rival the Cleveland Browns have also threatened to move to the suburbs. The Bengals could join a growing list within the next few months.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bengals Exec on Stadium Situation: 'We Could Go Wherever We Wanted After This Year'.