Look who’s about to join the 21st century!
For the past few years, the Cincinnati Bengals haven’t had very good grades on the franchise’s facility, which are given out by the NFLPA. They have addressed some of those problems. For example, they have completely revamped their locker room, including personal shoulder pad and helmet dryers for each player.
Still, the NFPA grades for the Bengals weren’t great. They even went as far to say the plumbing was an issue, players felt their families needs weren’t addressed during game days, and there were complaints about provided meals.
The team’s lease with Hamilton County expires in 2026, and the Bengals and the county have been in negotiations on stadium upgrades for a while. On Tuesday, Hamilton County revealed plans for a $1.2 billion renovation of Paycor Stadium that would add new club seats, a new indoor practice facility (no more bubble), more green space around the stadium, and add a 200-foot-wide and 60-foot-tall scoreboard in the north end zone.
There were no new taxes discussed at this point in the process, and, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Scott Wartman, the current administration doesn’t want to raise any new taxes. They want to use the current half-cent sales tax already in place to pay for the county’s portion of the renovations. Commissioner Alicia Reece has also asked for the NFL to provide Hamilton County with at least $100 million to help.
This is just a rough draft of what the riverfront next to Paycor Stadium and the updates within could look like. Nothing has been finalized, and there are still discussions to be had on who will pay for what.
You can look at the entire 107-page proposal here.
