Hamilton County will refund the difference between the seating zone for which fans paid and the price of the zone in which they were seated. Hamilton County will pay 10 percent interest on the refund amounts. The licenses were paid in three installments, the first of which was due in 1997. Fans seated in zones that they did not state as a preference in their original seat license application are entitled to refunds if they want to give up their licenses. There will be a relocation program for fans who want to move into the section of the stadium they originally paid for.
All fans are eligible for the relocation program.
Carl Stich, a chief assistant prosecuting attorney, said there will not be enough seats for everyone to relocate. So we'll be able to handle some of them, not all of them. Notices will be sent to each season ticket holder, at the Bengals' expense, explaining the settlement and their options. That mailing will be received by May 1. That hearing will start at 2 p.m. Bengals' attorney W. Stuart Dornette said the team needed to settle the matter so it could get on with the business of selling and printing tickets for the 2001 season.