Bengals adamant regarding stance on new stadium possibilities
Standard procedure for NFL teams nowadays is building a new stadium when the lease for the old one expires. This usually comes to the disgruntlement of the state/county where the stadium exists, i.e. the Buffalo Bills' new stadium deal. The Cincinnati Bengals aren't interested in taking that route. Paycor Stadium, formerly known as Paul Brown […]
Standard procedure for NFL teams nowadays is building a new stadium when the lease for the old one expires. This usually comes to the disgruntlement of the state/county where the stadium exists, i.e. the Buffalo Bills' new stadium deal.
The Cincinnati Bengals aren't interested in taking that route.
Paycor Stadium, formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium, has three more years left until its lease with Hamilton County expires. This will ultimately lead to a resolution between the Bengals and Hamilton County.
While the county is eyeing a more versatile stadium to attract more national events, the Bengals are pushing for further investment in Paycor Stadium.
Aaron Herzig, an attorney for the Bengals from Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, said as much on behalf of the franchise.
“We’re not asking for a new stadium," Herzig told Cincinnati Business Courier. "And we don’t think a new stadium needs to be part of the conversation. We don’t need a dome. We don’t think those make sense here. We need meaningful investment in (Paycor Stadium) starting now. That will save money in the long run. We think the reasonable approach is to upgrade and maintain Paycor Stadium.”
There's a point to be made regarding saving costs. Renderings of major renovations and additions to Paycor Stadium were released last December, with the expected cost to complete nearing $500 million.
A lot of dough, yes, but significantly cheaper than building a brand new stadium. Constructing a new one that can hold a higher capacity and host more events would bring in additional revenue to the county, but the most recent stadiums have entered the billions range. Buffalo's new stadium, set to open in '26 over, will cost $1.4 billionm with taxpayers covering $850 million.
Back before the Bengals' stadium was approved to be built, the county and ownership had a dispute over how much taxpayers would be responsible for financing the build. The Wall Street Journal labeled it "one of the worst stadium financing deals ever" over 10 years ago.
That the county is now interested in building a brand new stadium after all of that is definitely interesting, but the Bengals have made it clear they aren't interested in a stadium resembling what the newer venues in the NFL are.
