CINCINNATI — Hamilton County’s new expert on stadium negotiations is being paid $25,000 per month on retainer, with an additional fee of up to $450,000 possible — if his advice leads to a new lease with the Cincinnati Bengals.
David Abrams, of New York-based Inner Circle Sports, signed a contract with Hamilton County in October 2023, with pricing details further specified in a Jan. 1 amendment, according to documents obtained in a record request by the WCPO 9 I-Team.
He’s been paid $100,000 since his hiring, first reported by the I-Team on Jan. 29.
“David Abrams brings top-tier national expertise, extensive market knowledge, and a proven track record of successfully negotiating professional sports agreements," said Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus. "With his addition, we are fully confident that our legal and consulting team, working alongside the county commissioners, will secure the best possible deal for Hamilton County taxpayers.”
Abrams has brokered major league sports construction deals across the nation and advised on the funding for NFL stadium projects in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Nashville.
The documents show that Abrams would make the most money for “drafting and negotiating new terms for lease and other development issues as it relates to Paycor Stadium,” with $450,000 “payable at signing of all definitive documents, including a new lease agreement with the Cincinnati Bengals Inc.”
Abrams would receive $250,000 at the signing of “a memorandum of understanding or term sheet as it relates to the redevelopment of Paycor Stadium.”
County officials unveiled the long-awaited renovation plan for Paycor Stadium last September. However, who pays for the $1.25 billion cost is unclear.
"No decision is made today," then-Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece said at the start of that September 17, 2024 meeting, promising that any new agreement with the Bengals would be an improvement over the current lease in which taxpayers shoulder 95% of the cost.
"The current funding model, we can't go back to that," Reece said.
Abrams would get $200,000 “upon the county’s approval to move forward with funding the county’s project contribution.”
Beyond those details, the document sheds new light on lease terms that might emerge in the coming months.
The county’s lease with the Bengals is set to expire on June 30, 2026, but the team could opt for five consecutive two-year extensions. These extensions would go into effect upon written notice from the team no later than 12 months prior to the lease's expiration.
The contract says Abrams will provide expertise on “direct funding, off-balance sheet or separate issue/district funding, and all types of privatized funding” for stadium improvements.
He’ll also provide advice on “venue-specific financing mechanisms including personal seat licenses, naming rights and other forms of stadium-sponsored funding.”
Finally, the document says Abrams will “assist the county in developing a framework for proximate land use to improve the viability of these venues, promote greater economic development and encourage better neighborhood integration.”
Those ideas were not included in a six-page "negotiation framework," discussed at a county commission meeting Jan. 21. Instead, that document identifies, as its first priority, “the design, development, financing, renovation, operation and maintenance” of a $1.25 billion Paycor Stadium Complex unveiled last September.
The new plans do not include an option for building a new stadium.The county commissioners asked in April 2023 for the master plan to include options for a new stadium as well as for renovations to the current stadium so they can see the costs for both options.
