Timeline
1996
March 19: Hamilton County voters approve a half-cent sales-tax increase to fund stadium construction for the Bengals and Reds and provide property-tax relief.
Sept. 10: Hamilton County and Bengals announce agreement to build a stadium by Aug. 1, 2000. The agreement sets in motion finding an architect, assigns revenues and responsibilities but doesn't name a location.
1997
Feb. 13: Hamilton County and Bengals announce new stadium will be on the riverfront between Central Avenue and Elm Street with practice fields just west of the stadium.
May 1: Cincinnati and Hamilton County reach agreement on the refined site for the Bengals stadium, calming city concerns that the stadium and plaza would consume most of the central riverfront.
May 29: Hamilton County and Bengals sign a lease to build Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront and keep the team in town until 2026.
July 3: Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls rips Hamilton County's lease with the Bengals, saying the county gave away the city's riverfront.
Sept. 4: Hamilton County officials tell bond-rating agencies in New York they expect to spend $400.3 million to build the Bengals stadium complex. That price includes land, demolition and other costs that had not been included in previous estimates.
Sept. 23: City Manager John Shirey urges city council not to transfer 12.5 acres of riverfront property the county needs for the stadium until the city and county reach a riverfront development deal.
Nov. 26: Hamilton County agrees to pay about $36 million for 24 acres of riverfront land owned by the Castellini Family Trust, the largest private landowner on the riverfront.
Dec. 2: Striving to resolve a series of issues in one fell swoop, City Manager John Shirey proposes a detailed city-county agreement for developing the city's central riverfront and the new Bengals stadium.
Dec. 26: Bengals President Mike Brown accuses the city of not living up to its word and defends his stadium deal with county in a letter sent to business leaders and elected officials.
Dec. 29: Mr. Brown says if city and county don't resolve their differences by Jan. 31, he'll kill the stadium deal.
1998
Jan. 6: Hamilton County commissioners decide to issue more than $71 million in bonds for the $400.3 million Bengals stadium project.
Jan. 6: Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White says Cleveland wants an expansion team to play in the city's new stadium, not the Bengals, if the Cincinnati stadium deal collapses.
Jan. 16: City Manager John Shirey says the Bengals' Jan. 31 stadium deadline doesn't apply to the city, although he thinks the city and county will make the deadline.
Jan. 22: Negotiations between Cincinnati and Hamilton County go into tailspin after City Manager John Shirey presents council with a riverfront development deal the county says it hadn't agreed to.
Jan. 29: A marathon meeting at the offices of Kroger Co. Chairman and CEO Joseph A. Pichler between the city, county and team results in consensus on major issues.
Jan. 30: Negotiators for county, city and Bengals reach agreement in principle on deal to transfer city property.
Later this year, fans and critics alike will be able to watch the Bengals' new Paul Brown Stadium rise along the Ohio River bank. This condensed construction schedule shows some of the project's major milestones:
A 66-inch sewer relocation design was completed in November. Design of the Pete Rose Way utility relocation was completed in December.
Design of Mehring Way utility relocation was completed in December.
Practice field and stadium site designs were completed in March. Design of site excavation and railroad work was completed in March.
Design of deep foundation and piles, which are underground supports for the stadium, scheduled for completion this month.
Design of pile caps, which help support the stadium foundation, and grade beams scheduled for completion this month.
Design of stadium concrete and precast steel scheduled for completion in May.
Design of structural steel scheduled for completion in June.
Remaining stadium design scheduled for completion in June.
Demolition and hazardous materials removal scheduled for completion by September.
Excavation scheduled for completion by October.
Piles scheduled for completion in December.
Foundations completed by January 1999.
Practice fields completed in October 1999. This work will take months because the team will use dirt from the construction site to raise the fields by 7 to 8 feet.
Concrete - precast, which will essentially be the frame of the stadium structure itself, scheduled for completion in October 1999.
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is scheduled to start by this July and be finished in April 2000. This work is time-consuming because it includes heating and air conditioning, storm drains and other major work, as well as bathroom fixtures and other detail work.
Work on the plaza's underground supports and foundation is scheduled to begin by this September and be finished by December.
Work on the risers, the concrete structures that support the seating and house much of the stadium's support systems, is scheduled to start this October and be finished by June 1999.
Work on concrete masonry units, used in many of the concourses and surfaces exposed to the elements, and interior finishes, such as drywalls, ceilings and floors, is scheduled to start this October and be completed in March 2000.
Steel work, used mostly for the ramps in the stadium, is scheduled to start in December 1998 and be completed in March 1999.
Work on the building's "exterior envelope," or "skin," is scheduled to start in January 1999 and be completed by January 2000. The work will be complex because the building will have several different exterior finishes, unlike many other stadiums.
Work on specialties, such as food-service equipment and locker rooms, is scheduled to start in April 1999 and be completed in February 2000.
Work on the team's administrative offices is scheduled to start in April 1999 and be completed by April 2000.
Work on the stadium's canopy, its partial roof, is scheduled to start in March 1999 and be completed by August.
Construction of the stadium plaza itself is scheduled to start in April 1999 and be completed in June 2000.
Site work, such as landscaping and final paving, is scheduled to start in May 1999 and be completed in June 2000.
Seats are scheduled to be installed starting in July 1999, ending in November 1999.
Installation of the playing field, which will be natural grass, is scheduled to begin in November 1999 and be completed by May 2000.
Checking off the final "punch list," where the project is inspected to make sure everything was done correctly, is scheduled to start in January 2000 with completion by August 2000.
