Mike Brown
President
Cincinnati Bengals
1 Bengals Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45204

December 20, 1999

Dear Mr. Brown:

First, I want to congratulate you on your team's recent victories. I know firsthand the agony of defeat, and can empathize with the pressure under which you found yourself during the first three months of this season. I, along with other Bengals' fans, am excited about the progress the team is showing.

However, the excellent performance by your team in recent games cannot obscure the fact that your lease agreement for Paul Brown Stadium is a bad deal for the taxpayers who are funding it. Therefore, as a citizen of Hamilton County, I am respectfully asking you to voluntarily renegotiate your contract in the interest of civic responsibility.

As a business owner, myself, I can appreciate your desire to get the best deal for your organization. For that, you are to be commended. But looking at the agreement from the point-of-view of the average citizen, I hope you would agree that the contract inordinantly favors the Bengals at public expense.

There are numerous provisions in the lease agreement that can, and should, be renegotiated. For example, it should not be the obligation of the public to guarantee up to 50,000 seats sold per game. It is the Bengals' responsibility to field a team that is competent enough to attract a sufficient number of fans.

Second, we, the taxpayers should not be penalized if the new stadium is not completed by August of 2000. We are giving the Bengals a $407 million gift. It should not be necessary for the public to pay a penalty if you are slightly inconvenienced and must wait a few extra weeks before you can play games in your new home.

Then, there are issues regarding advertising rights, food and beverage concessions for events unrelated to the Bengals, and management of the stadium. In my view, the current contract gives the Bengals far too much control over things unrelated to the Bengals or their ability to play competitively.

You certainly have the right to stick to the terms of the current contract which the county commissioners approved. However, as you know, there is growing resentment among the taxpayers and Bengals fans over many of the details of that contract. If citizens express their frustration by not attending games, then the very purpose of building a new stadium for you will have been defeated.

Cincinnati and Hamilton County have a long history of civic leadership from our corporate community. You, Mr. Brown, have a choice. You can go down in history as a hard-nosed businessman who took unfair advantage of gullible county commissioners, or you can be remembered as a team owner who was tough on the field but generous to the community.

Please do the right thing, and renegotiate your lease agreement in a way that is more fair to the people who are paying for your new stadium. I will call you after Christmas to see if you would like to get together to further discuss my suggestion.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Hyland