The city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are near an agreement that would eliminate one of the final roadblocks to building Paul Brown Stadium.
Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said Tuesday night that he expects a deal will be reached by the end of the week for transfer of key city property needed for the stadium.
Though Mr. Bedinghaus said he would not characterize city-county talks as a tentative agreement, he added that ''we have been making steady progress.''
City Manager John Shirey and Hamilton County Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. met Tuesday evening in the latest meeting to try to reach a deal before a Jan. 31 deadline.
Bengals President Mike Brown had said that if the city and county don't resolve their differences by Jan. 31, he will kill the Bengals' stadium deal with the county.
Bengals and county officials were concerned that failure to transfer the land by that date would jeopardize completion of the project by August 2000, as the lease requires.
Mr. Brown and top Bengals officials left town for the Super Bowl, but said Tuesday they could hammer out their part of the deal by phone if necessary.
Past discussions appear to have revolved around who will pay for expensive riverfront parking garages, roadwork and a new flood wall for a reconfigured Fort Washington Way.
At issue has been 10 acres of city-controlled land that the county needs for the $400.3 million stadium complex.
Mr. Shirey had withheld transfer of the property because of concerns over the Bengals' role in approving development rights near the stadium and to win county concessions in assisting riverfront development.
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