Bengals detail plans to upgrade Paycor Stadium

The Cincinnati Bengals NFL team has announced plans to invest between $100m (£78.5m/€92.1m) and $120m to upgrade Paycor Stadium, with the work to focus on enhancing the fan experience.

The Bengals will launch major improvements to Paycor Stadium, with construction to take place until 2026. Projects will be in fan-facing areas and will include updated video and audio systems, renovations to suites and club lounges, concession upgrades, and beautification projects.

The plans received unanimous support from NFL owners and the league’s finance committee this week. The Bengals said the stadium improvements form a “necessary part” of a long-standing plan to keep a successful team in Cincinnati.

The announcement takes recent team investment to around $150m over the past few seasons, including $40m in private investment for projects that include the IEL Indoor Facility, a new locker room, an overhauled training room, new ribbon videoboards, and upgrades to concessions and the Bengals Pro Shop.

Katie Blackburn, executive vice-president of the Bengals, said: “The Bengals are continuing to invest in our future here in Cincinnati. We are lucky to have a great stadium and we are proud to invest in this great asset to help make it a best-in-class facility. We love our fans and can think of no better way to celebrate our 25th season in Paycor Stadium than to announce these major improvements that will make the gameday experience even better.”

Paycor Stadium opened in 2000. Paycor, a human capital management company, became the first naming-rights sponsor of the venue in August 2022. Prior to that, the venue was known as Paul Brown Stadium in honour of Bengals founder Paul Brown, who died in 1991.

In April 2022, a study by design and architecture firm Gensler found that the stadium is suitable to remain the long-term home of the Bengals but will require a minimum of $493m in upgrades.

Gensler was appointed to assess long-term capital repair, replacement and improvements and offer design options for the next 20 years. The firm looked into 15 different areas of the stadium and provided a suggested priority list and timeline for repairs.

The Bengals’ current lease deal at Paycor Stadium expires in 2026. The team has until June 2025 to decide whether to activate the first of five two-year extensions.