Business owners on Cincinnati's riverfront are accusing Hamilton County officials of trying to acquire their property on the cheap to build a football stadium for the Bengals.
Though they're represented by different lawyers, all four property owners say the county hasn't negotiated fairly with them and that the ''little guys'' are being hurt by the $400.3 million stadium complex.
''They give the bank away to (Bengals President) Mike Brown, and then they squeeze everybody else. Their offer to me was less than I paid for the place,'' said John Binder, who owns Flanagan's Landing and the building that houses Skyline Chili on Pete Rose Way. ''I don't expect a great, big windfall. But I expect to get what the place is worth.''
Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus declined to comment about specific property owners because the county is in the midst of the lawsuits. He said the county is trying to get ''the best deal for the taxpayers'' in buying the land.
The county has budgeted $50 million to buy the riverfront land needed for the stadium complex, which will sit roughly between Elm Street and Central Avenue with a curved Pete Rose Way to the north and Mehring Way to the south.
''It's obviously not a surprise to anybody where we'll be building this thing,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said. ''But we are sensitive to the fact we're buying businesses.''
Different strategies
Though Mr. Binder has been unhappy about the way the county is proceeding, he hasn't fought the county's efforts in court because he figures the county will get the land anyway.
Other businesses have been more aggressive. S&C Properties, which operates riverfront parking, and Caruso Inc., the produce company, both have filed motions to dismiss the county's lawsuits, saying the county never made a formal offer for the property as state law requires.
Both businesses are represented by Robert Manley, a downtown attorney with a history of fighting eminent domain procedures. Mr. Manley, in fact, represented businesses that were pushed out of the way by Riverfront Stadium - now Cinergy Field - 30 years ago. ''It's going to be a battle royal,'' he promised. ''If we lose at the trial court, we're going to appeal all the way. Our litigation could kill the stadium, but they're prepared to take the heat if that happens.''
Long fight seen
County officials need to purchase the land fairly quickly to complete the Bengals stadium by August 2000. But Mr. Manley said there's no way to make appellate courts move quickly.
''They'd have the right to take the property. But they might have to give it back to us, and we'd own the 50-yard line,'' he said. But Chief Assistant County Prosecutor Jim Harper doesn't think the lawsuits could kill the stadium, and he said there's no chance any individual will own the 50-yard line.
He contends the county has followed all the proper procedures to buy the land. Once a jury decides the value of the land and the county deposits that amount for the landowners, the property will belong to the county, he said.
''These property owners know that, so they should right now be making plans to go,'' Mr. Harper said.
If an appeals court were to rule in Mr. Manley's favor, the remedy would be money, not deeding over part of the stadium, Mr. Harper said. But he doesn't think it will ever come to that, he added.
Mr. Manley's lawsuits could be viewed ''as enhancing the parties' negotiating positions,'' Mr. Harper said.
But Caruso Inc. CEO Kevin Caruso said the family is simply trying to fight to keep its business alive. The $1.4 million the county wants to pay could kill the business, he said.
The Schneider family, which owns Caddy's Complex, has said the $1.6 million the county appears to want to pay them is less than their insurance company would pay if the place burned down.
Tactics blasted
Like the other business owners, the Schneiders don't like being accused of trying to delay stadium construction because they're greedy.
In an angry letter to the Enquirer, the Schneider family said the county didn't negotiate in good faith as promised and never made an offer for the property.
''It appears to us that as things stand now, the powerful Brown family is being enriched by the mis-allocation of taxpayers money, and the Schneider family will be very seriously harmed,'' the letter said.
Bill Coley, the family's lawyer, said he wanted to use the same approach Mr. Manley is using for his clients. But the family opted not to delay the project, members said, in part because the county agreed to allow Caddy's to stay open until New Year's Eve, an important night for the bar.
Mr. Bedinghaus said all the county wants to do is give business owners a fair price. If the county and the businesses can't negotiate a price, he said, a jury will do it. Trials are scheduled to begin in December.
But the business owners worry the county's low offers could sway a jury to pay far less than they think their businesses are worth. ''Is Mike Brown more a part of this community than I am?'' Mr. Binder asked. ''Somehow, he got a sweet deal. And we want what's fair.''
