By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A federal judge ruled Monday that an antitrust lawsuit against the Bengals and the National Football League could go forward, a move that could force NFL teams to disclose sensitive financial records.

The lawsuit accuses the NFL of using a monopoly over professional football to secure favorable stadium deals from Cincinnati and other communities.

The Bengals and the NFL had asked U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel to throw out the suit, but the judge instead ruled that the case should be allowed to proceed.

In his decision, Spiegel found the suit included "substantial detail with numerous supporting facts."

If proven, the judge said, those facts would show that the NFL was "able to coerce construction of a new stadium and negotiate unjustifiably favorable lease terms solely because of the monopoly that they enjoy over professional football."

Bengals and NFL officials could not be reached Monday night. But the team and the league have repeatedly denied breaking any rules.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune filed the lawsuit last year in an effort to recover more than $200 million from the construction costs of the $450 million Paul Brown Stadium.

Portune later withdrew his name when the Bengals and others complained that, as a commissioner, he had a conflict of interest. The suit now is in the name of a county taxpayer, Carrie Davis.

The suit claims the league "extorts" stadium deals from communities after threatening to move franchises to other cities.

Spiegel's ruling Monday means NFL teams could be required to reveal some of the financial information about costs and profits that they traditionally have been reluctant to make public.