CINCINNATI — Renovations are moving forward at Paycor Stadium to replace club seats, the stadium’s turf field and various technology and concession equipment.
The projects are part of 18 high-priority infrastructure and capital repair projects identified by the county and the Bengals in December 2023.
They are slated to be complete for the upcoming football season and ultimately integrated into a larger, more comprehensive renovation slated to start at the stadium in 2025.
“We’re making the improvements in the stadium that need to be made to keep the stadium relevant structurally,” Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto said.
The county committed to investing $39 million for the renovations, and the Bengals have invested the same amount since 2022.
Other projects include updating lighting and improving access to the stadium from the plaza. The county is working to triple the size of that access point.
More renovations are around the corner.
The county and the Bengals hired Los Angeles-based architecture and design firm Gensler Sports to evaluate the stadium. The firm released a capital assessment report in April 2022, recommending $493.7 million in basic repairs to the aging structure such as fixing steel rails and ramps, replacing seats and upgrading electric and plumbing systems.
That number does not include the potential $200 to $300 million more for future upgrades like luxury lounges, high-end food or drink and new signs and scoreboards.
“We have to be in tune with what the taxpayers want to do,” Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece said.
How the county and team will divide those costs is likely to be a major point of negotiation as the two parties prepare to negotiate a new lease. The team’s current lease expires in 2026.
“I think all of us, including the Bengals, would like to get that done sooner than later, so we know we have a certain future,” Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus said.
Reece is pushing for the NFL to take on some of the burden.
“We need over $100 million from the NFL to put skin in the game to try to take some of that burden off of the taxpayer,” Reece said.
As for the 18 smaller projects, the county is up against a deadline. The next major event at the stadium is the Cincinnati Music Festival which runs late July.