Suit Settled In Cincy

Owners of Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena have settled a lawsuit against Hamilton County, with commissioners agreeing April 11th to pay $1.45 million, sign a new parking deal and fund half the construction cost for new parking lots near the arena, according to the Cincinnati Post.

The suit, originally filed by previous arena owners Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, sought $25 million to $30 million from the county, claiming in July 2000 that the construction of the county-owned Great American Ball Park hurt U.S. Bank Arena revenues.

Instead, the current owner, Nederlander, will receive $1.45 million in cash. The county will also spend an additional $500,000 on construction of a new parking lot for about 140 vehicles. That will bring the owners 50 percent of the net parking revenue for non-arena events and 65 percent of the gross for arena events, the Post said.

In addition, Hamilton County will sign a 15-year lease with the venue regarding existing county-owned parking space at the Great American Ball Park and a nearby garage.

The new lease is reportedly considered a better deal for the county than the original 1974 parking lease, which provided much less revenue.

“The settlement that’s been reached results in a minimum expense to our county taxpayers and it also protects revenues for our county in the future,” commissioner Phil Heimlich told the paper.

“We here at the arena are extremely happy to have this lawsuit behind us,” U.S. Bank Arena spokesman Sean Lynn added. “We enthusiastically look forward to working with the county on an ongoing basis, moving forward.”