The Bengals appear ready to give up the fight against fans who feel cheated over their seat locations in Paul Brown Stadium.

        Troy Blackburn, the team's director of business operations, said Friday he hopes the team and Hamilton County officials will announce a “settlement program” soon that will satisfy disgruntled season ticket holders.

        A lawsuit was filed by six season ticketholders against the Bengals and Hamilton County in September alleging that they paid for licenses that allowed them to buy seats in specific sections of the stadium.

        The suit claims that the county took the money, then the Bengals assigned them seats in less-desirable areas. The lawsuit seeks to become a class action on behalf of other ticketholders.

        Mr. Blackburn's talk of a settlement came the same day the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled the case should go to trial, rather than to the one-on-one arbitration the Bengals and the county wanted.

        “If some people were put in a different location, let's refund the difference and move on,” Mr. Blackburn said. “It's not worth fighting over what we frankly think are manageable dollar amounts.

        “We hope the settlement program can be announced in the very near future.”

        But it wouldn't be the Bengals' money used in the license refunds.

        Hamilton County officials collected more than $26 million from the licenses — known as Charter Ownership Agreements (COAs) — which were used to help build the stadium. The COAs ranged in price from a high of $1,500 apiece in premier stadium locations to a low of $150.

        Mr. Blackburn said it should be the county that makes any refunds, even though it was the Bengals who assigned individual seats. The Bengals, he said, would refund any money owed to fans who overpaid for their tickets.

        Carl Stich, chief assistant prosecuting attorney for Hamilton County, said there have been no formal decisions regarding settlement offers.

        “We have talked conceptually about different ways we can settle this and the different ways we might be able to satisfy the people who are unhappy with their seats,” Mr. Stich said. “If a ticket holder didn't get what they paid for, they should get what they paid for or get a portion of their money back.

        “And if the county received the funds, the assumption I'm making is that it should probably be the county's responsibility.”

        About 42,000 COAs were sold by the county to help pay for the stadium. Although the county received the money, the Bengals were credited as making a $26 million contribution toward the stadium based on the COA sales.

        The notion of the county refunding COA money doesn't sit well with Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, who has said the county needs to start siding with the fans and quit backing the Bengals in this dispute.

        Mr. Portune pointed out that a consultant hired to run the COA program said in June that there was room in each section of the stadium for everyone who purchased a seat license. Shortly after that, the Bengals took over responsibility for assigning individual seats.

        “The county has done a disservice to the taxpayers and the fans,” Mr. Portune said. “People talk about the Bengals contributing $25 million to the stadium — hogwash.

        “That money came from the people who are filing the lawsuit. We should be bending over backwards to help them.”

        Janet Abaray, attorney for the fans, said the type of settlement described by Mr. Blackburn probably won't fly.

        Her clients, she said, should first be given the opportunity for a total refund if they want to give up their tickets, or to have a seat in the section of the stadium they paid for.

        “A lot of people out there are disgusted and want out — they want all their money back,” Ms. Abaray said. “So what they're offering is a little carrot and doesn't begin to address all our concerns.”

        Glenn Reedy fits that bill. Mr. Reedy, 62, of Loveland, has been a season ticket holder since the 1960s, but now he just wants out.

        He purchased four tickets in a section of the stadium that he says should have landed him between the 20-yard-line and the 5-yard line. His seats are in the end zone.

        “Seniority didn't seem to count for much,” said Mr. Reedy, who paid $3,200 for his licenses and is a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I want my money back.”

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