Bengals President Mike Brown took his case for a stadium deal directly to Cincinnati City Council Friday in the first of what he hopes is a series of private, one-on-one meetings.
But his first session with Councilman Todd Portune drew sharp criticism from two council members, who accused Mr. Brown of trying to undermine city negotiations with Hamilton County.
City Council must approve the transfer of 10 acres of riverfront land to Hamilton County by Jan. 31 to prevent the Bengals from killing their stadium lease with the county.
Mr. Brown met at Bengals headquarters for more than an hour with Mr. Portune, and he hopes to meet later with the rest of council. The team also wants to meet with City Manager John Shirey.
Two members of council's five-member majority coalition were angered by the thought of any council members meeting with Mr. Brown.
Vice Mayor Minette Cooper and Councilman Dwight Tillery said they thought that council members who meet with Mr. Brown undercut the work of Mr. Shirey, who is negotiating with county officials to reach a riverfront development agreement.
''He's going behind the manager's back and trying to pick off the manager's bosses on this thing,'' Mr. Tillery said of Mr. Brown.
Added Ms. Cooper: ''It puts Mr. Shirey in a hell of a position.''
Hamilton County Commissioner Tom Neyer Jr., who has been meeting with Mr. Shirey to try to reach a deal, said he appreciates the ''good intentions'' of Mr. Portune and Mr. Brown. But, he said: ''A watched pot never boils. Perhaps with a bit less scrutiny, this pot would have boiled by now.''
Mr. Brown said he never thought it would be bad to meet with council members to explain the team's point of view.
''We didn't negotiate,'' he said. ''We just made known facts and viewpoints. I think that's a good thing because the more information that's shared, the better on which to base a decision.''
Mr. Portune said he thought that ''it's important for everyone to tone down the rhetoric a little bit and ascertain whether we can work it out in good faith.''
To that end, Mr. Portune said he thought that it's important for council members to understand everyone's point of view.
Mr. Brown said the team invited Mr. Portune to talk to try to understand ''where the other side is coming from.'' He called the meeting useful.
The meeting came as the club continued its weeklong intensive effort to assert itself in the city-county stalemate.
The debate has become bogged down in questions about what elements of development the city and the county will pay, as well as how much. ''I have to do fact-finding to get everyone's perspective,'' Mr. Portune said. ''The Bengals have legitimate concerns, as does the city and county.''
Mr. Portune didn't want to talk specifics. Mr. Brown said he touched briefly on what he thought were three misconceptions: The county gave the Bengals too good a deal, the club has control of riverfront development, and the club is obstructing parking.
''The deal isn't too rich by NFL standards,'' Mr. Brown said. ''That's where we play, and we have to accept we have to pay NFL rates. We don't have control of the riverfront. We only have the power that has been blessed by the city negotiators. And we want parking as much as the city. When you sit down and talk, our views are identical. We want parking. We want development.''
Mr. Brown said he was looking for some perspective, which is why he also met Friday with U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, a longtime Bengals and Reds supporter.
''He's above the fray, and maybe that's something that can help all of us,'' Mr. Brown said. ''Maybe we've wandered into the woods and lost the overall view because of individual trees in our sight.''
Mr. DeWine said moving the Bengals to Cleveland, which is looking for a new team since the Browns left for Baltimore, is not an option.
''We can't have that happen as a state,'' he said.
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