As Hamilton County and the Bengals work to reach a ''guaranteed maximum price'' for the Paul Brown Stadium complex, the county and team face an unappealing choice if the cost comes in above the project's widely reported price tag.
Either the budget would have to be increased, a political hit for the county, or the project would have to be scaled back, which the team considers a practical hit to the Bengals.
''The county's in a funny pickle because of the whole cost inflation issue in the public's mind,'' said Troy Blackburn, the Bengals director of stadium development.
A 1995 report estimated it would cost $245 million for a football stadium, parking, design fees and road improvements. In May, the county announced it would build the Bengals a $270 million stadium. In September, officials announced the $400.3 million budget, which included land costs, three riverfront practice fields, parking lots, demolition and other costs that were not in the $270 million number.
County leaders have lauded the guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, as the county's insurance that it will not face cost overruns that have plagued Cleveland and other communities building stadiums. By giving a GMP, the county's construction manager takes responsibility for costs beyond that number.
The target for the GMP is $288 million, County Administrator David Krings said. That figure includes the stadium itself, the $10 million riverfront practice facilities and construction fees, he said.
Mr. Krings said if some costs are higher than expected, such as land, the county could always scale back other parts of the project, such as parking, instead of the stadium itself.
The process has been likened to building a house. The client approves the plans. But once the builder figures out how much it's going to cost, money-saving changes are made. In the case of the stadium, however, the builder is paying for the team's new facility, and the team does not like the idea of making many cost-cutting changes. ''Anybody that's built a house remembers the excitement of looking at the floor plan and looking at the model home,'' County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said. ''And working that model home into what you can afford is a process you go through.''
While the home buyers might notice all the little changes made to save money, ''Aunt Martha and Uncle Al'' see only a beautiful new home, Mr. Bedinghaus said.
''When Uncle Al and Aunt Martha walk into Paul Brown Stadium, they won't have a clue all the decisions that were made going into this,'' he said.
New cost figures for Paul Brown Stadium probably won't be ready until late March, Mr. Blackburn said. But construction work must continue without the numbers if the stadium is to be finished by August 2000, as the team's lease with the county requires, he said. Land costs and delays have added to the project's costs, but county officials have said they will try to absorb those increases in other parts of the budget so they do not go above $400.3 million. ''Our goal is to hold the line on those expenses outside the stadium, and I think we're showing that things are falling on our side,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said.
The county has had several contracts for demolition and sewer work come in below budget, which officials say will help absorb some of the increases. If there's a gap beyond that, there really are only two ways to deal with it, said John Michel, a county public works official overseeing the project.
''If you've got a gap, you either increase the budget, which is the call of the commissioners, or you do what we call value engineering, which is taking things out of the project,'' he said.
Mr. Michel said it is too early to tell whether there will be a gap, but the county already has taken some minor elements out of the stadium to save money.
''There are things that will be sacrificed in the program, not major things,'' he said.
Mr. Michel said the construction team will study the 1,100 drawings that county officials sent out Wednesday to determine how much money those sacrifices will save.
But Mr. Blackburn argues that the team's lease with the county makes the county solely responsible for increased land costs. ''We're not looking to get a haircut,'' he said, adding that scaling back the stadium could shorten its useful life.
''The best protection that we, the county and public can have that the project will work long-term is building a premium project,'' he said.
County Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. said he is confident Paul Brown Stadium will serve the community for a generation.
''This is something of which we will all be proud,'' he said.
