Amidst much speculation about where the Cincinnati Bengals might play after the 2026 season, there are some observers that think the team could actually move to St. Louis. John Breech of CBS Sports points out the current stadium situation for the Bengals.
Breech writes:
The Bengals have been playing in Paycor Stadium since it opened in 2000. The team’s lease at the building expires on June 30, 2026, but it doesn’t HAVE to expire because the lease includes a total of five two-year extensions that can be exercised by the Bengals.
The team has until June 30, 2025 to pick up the first of those five options and if that happens, then they’ll be locked into Paycor until June 30, 2028. However, if the Bengals don’t pick up the first two-year option, then all five options will become void, which will set the stage for the entire lease to expire on June 30, 2026.
The short version here is that the Bengals have less than three months to decide what they want to do and if they decline the option, then they’ll be free to move out of Cincinnati following the 2025 season. With less than 90 days to go until the Bengals have to make their decision, Blackburn said the team is taking things “day by day.”
There have been rumors that the Bengals could share a stadium with the Chicago Bears. That seems unlikely, but Nick Gladney of Fox2 in St. Louis says there is plenty of chatter that the team could be open to moving to the Gateway to the West, but that it’s not known for sure at this time.
“Although it’s unknown whether the Bengals are considering St. Louis as a possible relocation destination, many are speculating about the factors in St. Louis that might entice the Bengals to relocate there,” Gladney writes. “In fact, according to NBC Sports, Bengals Owner Mike Brown has spoken out against the move and was rumored as one of two owners to vote against the Rams move out of St. Louis to Los Angeles.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the markets where these teams play now,” Brown said back in 2015.
St. Louis is starved for football
From 1960-1987, the franchise now known as the Arizona Cardinals was the St. Louis Cardinals. Think Jim Hart and Neil Lomax. The Los Angeles Rams played in St. Louis from 1995-2015 after moving from Los Angeles before returning to Los Angeles. Yes, they liked to move apparently.
“St. Louis has now gone nearly a decade without an NFL team in the city, as the St. Louis Rams moved to Los Angeles at the end of the 2015 NFL season,” Gladney continues. “Despite the loss, the city has maintained a popular football presence, with the addition of the UFL’s Battlehawks.”
While the UFL puts out a solid product, it’s doubtful that the Battlehawks will satiate the locals’ appetite for professional football.
Would St. Louis be open to an NFL return?
It’s tough to imagine a United States city that wouldn’t welcome the addition of an NFL franchise, especially one that’s had two before with successful results.
Gladney says it sounds like the mayor would be interested – and has stated so in the past – but that he didn’t get immediate comment from her office for this story.
“It is unknown if the City of St. Louis would be interested in a reunion with the NFL after the Rams departure to Los Angeles,” Gladney writes. “When asked about the potential for another professional sports team in the city of St. Louis during a media briefing on April 10, Mayor Cara Spencer said the idea is a “worthwhile consideration.”
“FOX 2 reached out to the St. Louis Mayor’s Office for a comment on the idea of another NFL team but has not heard anything back.”
The Cincinnati Bengals do seem to have a potential stadium crisis coming up, and so far the options seem be to work out an agreement with their current stadium, consider sharing a stadium with the Bears or perhaps relocate the franchise altogether. Of course, all of this speculation could just be posturing for a new deal to stay put, which would be he path of least resistance.
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