The difficult road toward the eventual 2000 completion of Paul Brown Stadium began in earnest in November of '93. At that time, Bengals president Mike Brown, with support from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, sounded the call that Riverfront Stadium had become economically obsolete in the changing world of pro football. Brown warned that absent real progress on improving the Bengals' stadium situation, the club might be forced to consider moving. The first step toward a solution came in December, when the club agreed to stay at least through 1998, in exchange for a deal to partially renovate Riverfront and amend the team's lease. It was also stated that civic leaders would explore construction of a new stadium by the "early 2000s." The Bengals played their first season since 1984 without QB Boomer Esiason, who was traded to the N.Y. Jets in March for a third-round 1993 draft pick. David Klingler, Cincinnati's first-round 1992 selection, had taken over at QB at the end of 1992. Klingler directed late-season victories in '93 over the Rams and Falcons, but the bottom line was a 3-13 finish. Klingler had missed three games at mid-season, due to back problems, but veteran backup Jay Schroeder had been unable to right the ship. The '93 season was the most defense-dominated in Bengals history (through 2017), as Cincinnati and its foes averaged total combined points of only 31.6 per game. Preseason cuts had seen the Bengals release longtime kicker Jim Breech in favor of rookie Doug Pelfrey of Kentucky, a Greater Cincinnati native (Fort Thomas, Ky.) who would play for the team through 1999. Breech through 2017 is still Cincinnati's all-time leading scorer (1151). Breech started his Bengals career in 1980, after one season with Oakland, and through '17 he ranks third in NFL history in consecutive games played scoring at least one point (186). Changing public attitudes on smoking impacted Bengals fans in April, as Cincinnati City Council enacted a ban on smoking in seating areas at Riverfront Stadium, to take effect in 1994.
