November 26, 2010

Bengals reject ticket surcharges to repay public stadium debt

The never-ending quest to bail out the Hamilton County stadium fund has circled back around to ticket surcharges again: Hamilton County Administrator Patrick Thompson has proposed an additional ticket tax of between 1.8 percent and 3.9 percent on Bengals and Reds tickets, plus property tax hikes to help fill an expected $130 million shortfall over the next five years.

Only one problem: The Bengals say they won't go along with a ticket tax, rightly understanding that it would cut into their ability to jack up ticket prices as high as the market would otherwise bear. And both teams have the right to veto any ticket surcharges under their godawful stadium leases, so don't hold your breath waiting for this one to happen.