CINCINNATI (AP) — A new stadium lease for the Cincinnati Bengals has not reached the end zone yet.
Hamilton County commissioners approved the 11-year lease on Thursday that includes $470 million in renovations to Paycor Stadium.
However, the Bengals have not signed off because they have not seen the final version.
“The version of the lease approved by the Hamilton County Commissioners was not shared with the Bengals prior to the vote. The team will have no further comment until we are able to review the document,” the Bengals said in a statement after the commissioners voted 2-1 to approve the lease.
The commissioners will hold a special meeting on Friday with the lease agreement on the agenda.
The lease would keep the team at their downtown home through at least 2036. It also includes 10 additional option years that could extend it through June 2046.
The county will contribute $350 million toward the renovations, and the Bengals will pay $120 million. The plan is far less than the $830 million the Bengals originally proposed.
“The county has said that what we’re asking for is in the generality of what other NFL teams deals are in markets our size, and in situations approaching ours,” Bengals owner Mike Brown said on July 21. “We think the stadium fits our needs, fits the community for size. It’s a nice stadium, it really is. It needs to be maintained. We want that to be the case moving forward, but what we’re doing is asking to go forward in a way not too dissimilar from how we have been going all these years.”
The Bengals have proposed improvements to the club lounges, stadium suites, concessions and scoreboards.
The funds do not include any money from the state. The Cleveland Browns are receiving $600 million from unclaimed funds in the budget recently signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
The Browns are planning to build a new domed stadium in Brookpark, Ohio, near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The Bengals have called Paycor Stadium home since 2000. It was originally named Paul Brown Stadium until the team sold the naming rights in August 2022.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Cincinnati Bengals players perform a drill during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
A general view during the Cincinnati Bengals' practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
MIAMI (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the Boston Celtics trailed most of the way before rallying to beat the Miami Heat 119-114 on Thursday night.
Sam Hauser added 17 points for the Celtics, who outscored Miami 36-21 in the fourth quarter and won after facing as much as a 19-point deficit. It was their second-biggest comeback win of the season, after coming from 20 down to beat Indiana on Dec. 22.
Simons had the second highest-scoring game for a reserve this season — Utah's Brice Sensabaugh had 43 on Wednesday night in a loss to Chicago — and became the fourth Celtics player in the last 50 years to score at least 39 off the bench. The others: Larry Bird, Todd Day and Payton Pritchard.
Norman Powell scored 26 points for Miami, which got 22 points apiece from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Heat.
Simons had 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter to chip away at what was left of the Miami edge, and then Hauser got an open 3-pointer with 5:21 left to give the Celtics their first lead since the opening minute of the game.
The lead changed hands twice more, before Brown's 3-pointer with 4:05 remaining put Boston on top for good.
Miami started the game on a 28-9 run, putting the Celtics in a most unusual early position.
That 19-point margin — only about seven minutes into the game — matched the biggest first-quarter deficit the Celtics faced in a 304-game span since trailing Indiana by 20 early on in a game on Dec. 21, 2022. Boston also trailed Milwaukee by 19 in the first quarter on April 9, 2024.
The Heat played without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (left shoulder contusion) and sixth man Jaime Jaquez Jr. (left knee soreness).
Celtics: At Atlanta on Saturday night.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, center, is defended by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) comes under pressure from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) goes for the basket defended by Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware, obscured, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) reacts after making a shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from courtside during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
