Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich's guest editorial ("County entitled to seek better Bengals deal," April 7) outlined a bleak path for this community. He also painted an inaccurate picture for your readers.

Heimlich seems so preoccupied with justifying why he can bring his lawsuit that he fails to answer whether he should bring his lawsuit. Heimlich seems to have forgotten his job: to move Hamilton County forward. Heimlich seems to think that Hamilton County is competing against the Cincinnati Bengals. Heimlich has it all wrong.

Hamilton County is losing jobs, losing population and losing its battle against other communities. Hamilton County's competition is not the Cincinnati Bengals, but rather places like Charlotte, Nashville, Indianapolis and Baltimore, which have passed Cincinnati by in the last 20 years.

And what is our competition doing? They are using sports teams, convention centers and other large attractions to enhance their communities. They work with their sports teams for economic development, not sue them.

Only one city tried a lawsuit (St. Louis), and it lost. And that was eight years ago, when Cincinnati was debating whether to build new stadiums. Opponents of that issue argued then the same things Heimlich says now. The community spoke, and Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium were built.

The facts that will come out in a lawsuit will show that:

• Hamilton County was represented by the same national experts in its stadium deals with the Reds and the Bengals.

• Hamilton County and its attorneys had to be aware of the St. Louis litigation back in 1996, which means its lawsuit is barred by the four-year statute of limitations. Also, even though Todd Portune and Heimlich were on City Council then, neither raised legal concerns at the time.

• The stadium deal was negotiated based on trying to allow the Bengals to generate average National Football League revenues while operating in one of its smallest markets - the 31st largest in the country.

• The Paul Brown Stadium lease has allowed the Bengals to generate revenues above the NFL average exactly once - and even with every game sold out, it is unlikely the Bengals will reach average NFL revenues in the future because most teams now have new stadiums, too.

• With respect to construction cost overruns (one of Heimlich's complaints), the Bengals offered to take that risk, but Hamilton County wanted to control construction.

• With respect to declining sales tax revenues (another of Heimlich's complaints), the Bengals offered to take a portion of that risk, but Hamilton County preferred another financing plan.

And as for the outcome of the lawsuit, Hamilton County's claims will miss the mark just as those in St. Louis did, and taxpayers will be out millions of dollars. And what message will that send locally and nationally? Not a positive one. Will Hamilton County next sue the Reds if their player payroll does not match that of the St. Louis Cardinals? Will Hamilton County next sue Procter & Gamble if it moves jobs out of Cincinnati?

The Enquirer, community leaders and the Bengals have all argued that a lawsuit is the wrong direction for Cincinnati. If Heimlich wants to sue, so be it. We will defend the case vigorously and prevail. But our town will be worse off. Cincinnati's reputation will be damaged, and the vision for completing the riverfront development begun eight years ago will be set back. This town deserves better leadership than what Heimlich is offering.

Troy A. Blackburn is director of business development for the Bengals.