BY LUCY MAY
and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Bengals President and General Manager Mike Brown said Tuesday that he wants a stadium lease signed with Hamilton County before the May 20-21 NFL owners meeting in San Diego.

''We want the lease done before then. We want it approved at that meeting,'' Mr. Brown said. ''I think it will get done Š I may have faltered in some beliefs, but I have not faltered with that one.''

The county's absolute lease deadline is June 1. By then, the county must have a lease signed with either the Bengals or the Cincinnati Reds. If the county doesn't meet that deadline, the half-cent sales tax increase passed to fund the construction of the teams' two new stadiums willwould be rolled back.

Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus said he's aware of the NFL meeting.

''Our goal is to get it done by June 1,'' he said. ''If we get it done (in time for the league meetings), then great. That certainly beats our June deadline.''

Today is the deadline for Hamilton County to have sold 50,000 seat licenses for the new Bengals stadium, which will sit on the riverfront roughly between Central Avenue and Elm Street.

The county isn't going to meet that goal, Mr. Bedinghaus said, but he doesn't expect it to be a problem.

''I would suspect that Š we'll continue to negotiate,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said.

Troy Blackburn, the Bengals' director of stadium development, said the April 30 deadline has served its purpose.

''The intent was to determine how strong was our fan support,'' Mr. Blackburn said. ''The evidence is the fan support is terribly strong, which makes signing a lease much easier for both the club and the county.''

At last count, the county had sold 36,000 charter ownership agreements, he said. The COAs also are known as seat licenses, which are annual or one-time fees giving fans the right to buy season tickets.

The county probably has sold more in the past few days because of its marketing campaign, which includes television commercials and direct mailings.

Bengals director of community affairs Jeff Berding declined to say how many club seats and luxury suites have been sold. The memorandum of understanding between the county and team requires the Bengals to sell 6,000 club seats and 84 luxury suites by today.

Other Wednesday stories

BROWN FAMILY NOT LIABLE FOR $40M IN TAXES
BENGALS TRY TO TIE UP DEFENSIVE ENDS

Previous stories

Stadium redesign well received April 25, 1997

Bengals leery of Wedge April 9, 1997

Stadium price tag growing April 3,1997

Stadium gaining ground? April 2,1997

Bengals won't sign till tax dies March 25,1997

Mike Brown's 'Letter to the Editor' March 25, 1997

Bengals balk at tax plan March 24,1997

Bengals want county blitz on seat licenses March 21,1997

City balks at size of stadium March 15,1997

Seat sales on target for team to stay Feb. 19,1997

'The Jungle' moving to Central Ave. Feb. 14, 1997

Stadium site to be announced this week Published Feb. 9, 1997

Seat license sales pass $20M goal Published Feb. 7, 1997

Consultants favor Riverfront West Published Dec. 20, 1996

Seat licenses $300 to $1,500 Published Dec. 18, 1996

Rules, procedure for buying seat licenses Published Dec. 18, 1996

Designs draw oohs and ahhs Published Dec. 17, 1996

Architect's drawings revealed Published Dec. 8, 1996

Site selection is a decision of a lifetime Published Dec. 2, 1996