BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- While Cincinnati waits for Ohio to come through with an $81 million contribution promised for the new Bengals and Reds stadiums, a deal is in the works to guarantee Cleveland's stadium money now.
Gov. George Voinovich's administration is seeking approval of a $21.7 million, low-interest state loan to help Cleveland complete construction of a new home for the football Browns, according to state documents obtained Wednesday by The Enquirer.
"The Cleveland stadium is on the 10-yard line and ready to score," said Curt Steiner, Mr. Voinovich's chief of staff. "It's important to keep this project moving forward."
Some Cincinnati power brokers, though, are privately worried that if Cleveland's stadium funding appears to be taken care of now, it will be even more difficult to persuade the General Assembly to pump more taxpayer dollars into the Bengals and Reds stadiums.
"The more important issue is the difficult one of the General Assembly keeping the promises made to do for Cincinnati what already has been done for Cleveland," said former Senate President Stanley Aronoff, R-Cincinnati.
Trying to downplay the significance of the request, Cleveland officials said they don't intend to draw upon the loan, but need a guarantee that funds are available to ensure the Browns stadium is ready for an NFL expansion team by August 1999.
Given the potential backlash from Browns fans, who are still furious that former owner Art Modell moved the old franchise to Baltimore, Mr. Voinovich (a former Cleveland mayor) wants to avoid a stadium snafu while he is running for the U.S. Senate this year. Republican legislative leaders, meanwhile, are reluctant to go along with the loan deal as they gear up for the November elections. Mindful of a national backlash against taxpayer-funded sports projects, they want to avoid a stadium debate while funding for public school construction remains unresolved.
The loan proposal is controversial enough that the leaders are under pressure to temporarily replace members of the state Controlling Board who either oppose the idea or face tough challengers this fall.
The board, a seven-member panel of lawmakers led by an administration official, is scheduled to consider the loan proposal on Monday. In defending the proposal, Mr. Steiner said Cleveland would rather receive a state grant than be forced to pay back a multimillion-dollar loan at 5 percent interest during the next 20 years.
Mr. Voinovich continues to support additional state funding for the Cincinnati stadiums, he said.
"If funding for stadiums is included in the capital bill, this loan will be moot," Mr. Steiner said. "I think it will be an added incentive for Cleveland to work even harder with Cincinnati and other communities to get the capital bill passed."
Both cities have lobbied fiercely for stadium money - in the form of grants instead of loans - in the two-year state budget for construction projects.
The spending plan typically is considered in the spring of even-numbered years, providing lawmakers with a list of pork barrel projects to promote on the campaign trail. But Republican legislative leaders put the latest bill on hold after voters resoundingly defeated a proposed sales tax increase for schools on May 5.
"It's a tough time to handle this subject in light of what happened with the election," Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, said recently.
It was difficult in 1996 for Mr. Aronoff to engineer a deal that included the first installment of state money for the stadiums. Critics said the state should concentrate on refurbishing public school buildings, dubbed the worst in the 50 states by a federal study.
Such attacks have become more sharply focused since the Ohio Supreme Court declared last year that the state's system of financing and maintaining public schools was inadequate and unconstitutional. Hamilton County officials are quick to note that during the 1996 campaign to increase the county sales tax by a half-cent on the dollar to fund stadium construction, state officials pledged 15 percent of the construction cost.
Since a deal on the Browns stadium was reached earlier, Cleveland already has received $15 million in state funds. Now that a lease has been signed with the Bengals, the state is expected today to authorize a like amount for Hamilton County.
Diane Downing, the city of Cleveland's project manager, said without the loan guarantee, the city won't be able to sign contracts this month that ensure the Browns stadium will be ready for the team next fall.
"Part of our original finance plan included a contribution from the state," Ms. Downing said. "We consider this loan an interim financing plan."
