Hamilton County's drive to sell $20 million in seat licenses for building the Bengals' stadium begins this morning with the slogan ''Own Your Piece of the Jungle.''
The team's season ticket holders enter the uncharted world of licensing in an established NFL market. They will begin evaluating prices ranging from $300 to $1,500.
''That's a little more than I figured, but I'm going to buy them,'' said Maribeth Patterson, a season ticket holder from Hyde Park who is a marketer for an insurance company. ''It means maybe I can't have the seat I'm in now, but that doesn't bother me enough not to buy it.''
The charter ownership agreement (COA) plan was sent to season ticket holders Tuesday afternoon, detailing the one-time fees that give fans the right to buy season tickets.
The $20 million goal must be met by April 30 to secure the club's future in Cincinnati.
Officials said seats in the new stadium can't be compared to the ones at Cinergy Field because of the old stadium's bowl design.
Don Schumacher, chief of Tri-State Sports, the company selling the licenses for Hamilton County, emphasized Tuesday fans should have better seats in the stadium no matter where they sit.
''With the exception of the last couple of rows on the 50-yard-line (in the upper level), all seats are closer,'' Schumacher said. ''People who are disappointed to find that they are sitting in higher priced seats than they were hoping should use their priority and move to a section that fits their budget. Because it's a football-only stadium, their seats will be dramatically better.''
About half of the 58,000 COAs cost either $300 or $480, with Schumacher excited about the $480 seats off the corner of the end zones on the lower level.
But some fans expressed concern Tuesday that the best upper level seats cost well above the average of $500. Patterson currently holds seats near midfield in Cinergy's green level, a spot costing $900 for a license in the new stadium.
''I don't understand why an upper level seat has a 900-buck tariff,'' said Dennis Behrendt, an Anderson Township salesman, who now sits in the upper level on the 45-yard line. ''That means for two seats, I've got to give them 540 bucks by Jan. 31. I'm going to have to think about that.''
Behrendt does his math this way:
All season ticket holders get a 10 percent discount, so the two licenses cost $1,620.
The license can be paid in three even installments, with the down payment due with the deposit, followed by the second installment due Feb. 1, 1998 and the final one Feb. 1, 1999. So two down payments for two $900 licenses is $540.
To keep their priorities in the seating zone of their choice, Behrendt and all season ticket holders have to get their down payment in by Jan. 31.
Behrendt said he will have to consider a cheaper seat.
That's what University of Cincinnati professor Jean-Charles Seigneuret plans to do. Seigneuret, who has a corner seat, thought about moving to the upper deck until he heard the prices. If he stays where he is, his license will be $480.
''I like the Bengals, but I'm not going to go over $500,'' Seigneuret said. ''I'll stay in that range.''
On Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Bengals President Mike Brown helped Schumacher launch the ''Cincinnati First Fans,'' campaign, linking the team's tradition to the concept of fans helping build the club's exclusive home for the 21st century.
Brown then called on Tagliabue to schedule the new Cleveland Browns to play the Bengals in the stadium's regular-season debut, the 2000 opener.
The greatest casualty in the Dave Shula era, which came to an end with new coach Bruce Coslet's 6-2 record in the second half of this season, was the Bengals' season ticket base. Schumacher said the Bengals have lost 10,000 ticket holders in the past three seasons, dropping the total to 45,000.
''So you figure there is 10,000 tickets out there, people who love the Bengals, but won't put up with a bad football team,'' Schumacher said, noting the Bengals' history of going to the Super Bowl after down years.
Rules and how to buy
