So maybe the Cincinnati Bengals can get deals done. And maybe they are better at finalizing agreements for stadiums than they are for players. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team has secured a new lease to continue playing home games at Paycor Stadium through 2036.
“Now official: The Cincinnati Bengals and Hamilton County finalized a new lease that keeps the team in Cincinnati playing home games at Paycor Stadium through June 2036, with 10 additional option years that could extend the lease through June 2046,” Schefter posted on X.
There has been a lot of talk about what the Bengals were going to do with Paycor Stadium. The team wanted upgrades and there was talk about whether or not they’d get certain public funds to help with all of the renovations. Some floated the idea that they should move in with the Chicago Bears, and there was even the possibility that they could move the team entirely (obviously didn’t happen).
Paycor Stadium agreement details
Carter Bahns of CBS Sports breaks down some of the details of the new agreement.
“Paycor Stadium, which has been home to the Bengals since it opened in 2000, will undergo upgrades as part of the project,” Bahns writes. “It carries a smaller price tag than the initial $830 million the Bengals proposed, and the county will foot the majority of the bill to the tune of $350 million. The team, with assistance from the NFL’s G-5 loan program, will contribute $120 million to the renovations. Stadium upgrades include improvements to the club lounges, stadium suites, concessions and scoreboards.”
Got all that? On July 21, Bengals’ owner Mike Brown said he was excited about being at Paycor Stadium in a way that only he can.
“The county has said that what we’re asking for is in the generality of what other NFL teams deals are in markets our size, and in situations approaching ours,” Brown said. “We think the stadium fits our needs, fits the community for size. It’s a nice stadium, it really is. It needs to be maintained. We want that to be the case moving forward, but what we’re doing is asking to go forward in a way not too dissimilar from how we have been going all these years.”
Remember when there was talk of the Bengals moving to St. Louis?
Back in April, there were rumors that the Bengals could move to St. Louis. While it was just a rumor as far as we know, it’s possible that chatter of that nature lit a match under someone to make something happen.
Nick Gladney of Fox2 in St. Louis wrote then that there was indeed plenty of speculation.
“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 wrote. “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.
“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. Despite the loss, the city has maintained a popular football presence, with the addition of the UFL’s Battlehawks.”
Well, that talk can be put to bed now, the Bengals are staying in Cincy for the foreseeable future. They are free to go back to stiffing star players at their leisure.
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