December 13, 20231 yr The rendering shows a nice increase in the entrance. Agreed this is a long overdue change.
December 13, 20231 yr Yeah that is one fix that will actually help the average fan out a ton because that area is a huge choke point. They did a report a few years back and found that the Elm street entrance saw the most people by far of all the entrances, but the area wasn't designed to handle that because it was designed to 'face' the tailgating lots to the west. Because of how much more the banks and the associated garage has been built up over the last 20+ years it makes sense that this entrance is the most used now and this plaza widening is long long overdue.
December 18, 20231 yr On 12/13/2023 at 12:21 PM, ucgrady said: Yeah that is one fix that will actually help the average fan out a ton because that area is a huge choke point. They did a report a few years back and found that the Elm street entrance saw the most people by far of all the entrances, but the area wasn't designed to handle that because it was designed to 'face' the tailgating lots to the west. Because of how much more the banks and the associated garage has been built up over the last 20+ years it makes sense that this entrance is the most used now and this plaza widening is long long overdue. Yeah I think when they released the initial stadium renovation plans 18 or so months back, it mentioned that the east gate handles 45% of the stadium traffic which is pretty crazy. Have to think with the extra space, it will make the NE gate easier to access as well. edit: found the image. Edited December 18, 20231 yr by tonyt3524
December 18, 20231 yr Color me surprised that Gate B handles the least. So many tailgaters coming from that direction.
December 18, 20231 yr On 12/13/2023 at 11:32 AM, Cincy513 said: The rendering shows a nice increase in the entrance. Agreed this is a long overdue change. Is this a rendering or how it looks currently? you can still see the wall along Elm street and does not look that much wider.
December 18, 20231 yr 27 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said: Is this a rendering or how it looks currently? you can still see the wall along Elm street and does not look that much wider. That is the rendering. The current opening is much smaller then what is shown there. It's basically only between the two light posts that are closer to the street. The four sign posts on the right don't exist now and that is the new enlarged entrance. I agree it would be nicer if it was even bigger, but even just this is a huge improvement.
December 18, 20231 yr 4 minutes ago, Cincy513 said: That is the rendering. The current opening is much smaller then what is shown there. It's basically only between the two light posts that are closer to the street. The four sign posts on the right don't exist now and that is the new enlarged entrance. I agree it would be nicer if it was even bigger, but even just this is a huge improvement. I agree it would be a huge improvement. I was hoping they could have expanded it south a bit more, even if it required a few steps to help move a larger amount of people. Considering close to 1/2 the stadium uses that gate, they definitely needed to do something. I remember going to games in the dark years of Bengaldom and the crowds typically left by early in the 4th quarter that it was never a huge issue getting out after the game. Now that they are good and selling out, you definitely notice the bottleneck.
December 18, 20231 yr I am a season ticket holder. I use Gate B. My seats are on that side of stadium and normally I'm coming from downtown via Plum. I went to the Banks once this year before a game and it was so packed @ Gate D, we walked around to the other side. Had to go that way anyway.
December 18, 20231 yr Yeah we typically walk down Elm to Gate E and walk around the south end of the stadium to get to our seats. Either way I think that widening that plaza is a good idea. I guess the only question is, where is the staircase that connects it to the lots below? Are they purposely trying to get the people on Pete Rose way / ground level to use a different entrance by not giving them a staircase at all?
December 18, 20231 yr I'm wondering if the plan is to match what was originally proposed or if it was scaled back.
December 18, 20231 yr The rendering shown is scaled back because it appears to line up with the northern edge of Freedom Way instead of extending the plaza and stairs to the northern side of Pete Rose Way below.
December 18, 20231 yr Better than nothing I suppose. Gate B is just in a weird spot. Putting the entry at the narrowest part of the walkway just seems very counterproductive.
February 16, 20241 yr Multi-million dollar renovations underway at Paycor Stadium Club level and plaza renovations are on tight schedule before Cincinnati Music Festival The multi-million upgrades at Paycor Stadium are well underway. Hamilton County Commissioners say crews removed about 12,500 seats this past week as part of the multi-year, $39 million stadium renovation. The club level seats are now gone, and the county says they will be replaced with more comfortable seats. The Bengals paid for $32 million worth of renovations inside the stadium which includes upgrading concessions stands, adding LED ribbon boards. Driehaus likened Paycor Stadium to a house saying "it's twenty-something years old" when talking about the renovations. Whether it's work on the concrete or the pipes, Driehaus said crews are always at Paycor Stadium working. She said the deadline to get this done is not only before the NFL season begins, but before the next big event happening at Paycor Stadium, which includes Cincinnati Music Festival on July 25, 2025. Cont "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
February 26, 20241 yr Details and Video about the new locker room and other construction. It’s nice they have started some work on the stadium before the big renovations in a few years. https://www.bengals.com/news/upgrades-paycor-stadium-locker-room-field-2024-season
March 28, 20241 yr $39 million in renovations have begun at Bengals’ Paycor Stadium home By Steve Watkins – Staff reporter, Cincinnati Business Courier Mar 27, 2024 Updated Mar 27, 2024 10:53pm EDT A massive $39 million offseason renovation of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paycor Stadium is underway in what could be a prelude to larger changes down the road. Hamilton County, which owns Paycor Stadium, is installing a new field surface, renovating locker rooms, upgrading club seats, expanding the plaza at one of the gates and more to update the facility as the Bengals enter their 25th season at Paycor. The county is paying for this round of upgrades. “Because the stadium is 25 years old and we want to keep it in the great condition that it has been in, we have been focused on how we keep maintaining it so we can hopefully make it last a little bit longer into the future,” Katie Blackburn, Bengals executive vice president, said in an article on the team’s website. “We're very happy with our stadium, but it does require things to be done over time to keep it up to standards, so we've been working hard trying to make sure we do that, rather than getting too far behind." MORE
March 28, 20241 yr 1 hour ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said: so we can hopefully make it last a little bit longer into the future Imagine if the houses we built only lasted 25 "and a little bit longer" years... I really like the bones (and location) of the stadium, just renovate the hell out of it. Why we need to pay for "haciendas", night clubs and whatever else goes in new stadiums is beyond me. We're a market where we just want to see a good team, it's our identity more so than an LA or Las Vegas team, where it's an event, or vibe.
March 28, 20241 yr I will say the field suites we built at Nippert have been very successful but that's more about the location than the amenities.
April 2, 20241 yr Author $39 million in renovations have begun at Bengals’ Paycor Stadium home A massive $39 million offseason renovation of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Paycor Stadium is underway in what could be a prelude to larger changes down the road. Hamilton County, which owns Paycor Stadium, is installing a new field surface, renovating locker rooms, upgrading club seats, expanding the plaza at one of the gates and more to update the facility as the Bengals enter their 25th season at Paycor. The county is paying for this round of upgrades. “Because the stadium is 25 years old and we want to keep it in the great condition that it has been in, we have been focused on how we keep maintaining it so we can hopefully make it last a little bit longer into the future,” Katie Blackburn, Bengals executive vice president, said in an article on the team’s website. “We're very happy with our stadium, but it does require things to be done over time to keep it up to standards, so we've been working hard trying to make sure we do that, rather than getting too far behind." More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2024/04/01/major-renovations-begin-at-bengals-paycor-stadium.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 17, 20241 yr 3 hours ago, ucgrady said: Work is moving along at the extended plaza Wish they would have went ahead and just covered all of lot 13.
April 23, 20241 yr From what I understand The NFL is kicking about 100 Mil towards stadium projects anyway so this shouldn’t be much of an ask at all. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/23/county-commission-reece-nfl-pay-paycor-upgrades.html Edited April 23, 20241 yr by 646empire
April 25, 20241 yr Why Hamilton County rejected the Cincinnati Bengals' $350 million lease extension proposal CORRIE SCHAFFELD | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER By Chris Wetterich – Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier Apr 25, 2024 Hamilton County last summer declined a proposal by the Cincinnati Bengals to sign a five-year lease extension for $350 million in upgrades, with $300 million coming from taxpayers and $50 million from the team, according to public records. The overture came in an Aug. 8, 2023, email from Bengals Vice President Troy Blackburn to Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto. “The approach would solve the necessary short-term requirements and obligations, while at the same time giving the parties another eight seasons to forge longer-term solutions,” Blackburn said. MORE
April 25, 20241 yr 16 minutes ago, The_Cincinnati_Kid said: Why Hamilton County rejected the Cincinnati Bengals' $350 million lease extension proposal CORRIE SCHAFFELD | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER By Chris Wetterich – Staff reporter and columnist, Cincinnati Business Courier Apr 25, 2024 Hamilton County last summer declined a proposal by the Cincinnati Bengals to sign a five-year lease extension for $350 million in upgrades, with $300 million coming from taxpayers and $50 million from the team, according to public records. The overture came in an Aug. 8, 2023, email from Bengals Vice President Troy Blackburn to Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Aluotto. “The approach would solve the necessary short-term requirements and obligations, while at the same time giving the parties another eight seasons to forge longer-term solutions,” Blackburn said. MORE This was DOA, what a bizarre request. I don’t think I’ve ever seen stadium negotiations unfold like this. I guess it’s fitting tho as Cincinnati is known for the horrible lease agreement of the 90s/2000s that’s been written about countless times. Why do a 5year extension for a whopping 350 Million just to then go back to the table for another 300 Million part 2. Negotiate the whole 700 ish mil reno and 20 year extension and be done. These folks give me headaches. The only reason to structure it like this august proposal would be to do the big 350 mil maintenance renovation while secretly plotting a new stadium in the 2030s. Edited April 25, 20241 yr by 646empire
April 25, 20241 yr On 4/23/2024 at 4:09 PM, 646empire said: From what I understand The NFL is kicking about 100 Mil towards stadium projects anyway so this shouldn’t be much of an ask at all. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/23/county-commission-reece-nfl-pay-paycor-upgrades.html Yes but for for brand new multi-billion dollar stadium projects, not renovations.
April 25, 20241 yr 11 minutes ago, dnymck said: Yes but for for brand new multi-billion dollar stadium projects, not renovations. From what I was told yesterday, It will apply to these expensive full renovations too. The early 2000s group of stadiums are coming due for replacement or renovation the league will be assisting financially. Which make sense some owners don’t want new stadiums this go around so you can’t penalize those cities and say you get zero if it isn’t brand new. Edited April 25, 20241 yr by 646empire
May 22, 20241 yr On 4/23/2024 at 4:09 PM, 646empire said: From what I understand The NFL is kicking about 100 Mil towards stadium projects anyway so this shouldn’t be much of an ask at all. https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2024/04/23/county-commission-reece-nfl-pay-paycor-upgrades.html Another 100 Million in renovations announced and is coming from The NFL Stadium Fund. This will focus of Suites, Clubs and other areas. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40193066/bengals-invest-100m-renovations-amid-stadium-talks Edited May 22, 20241 yr by 646empire
July 30, 2024Jul 30 Bengals unveil its new locker room, very impressive. https://www.fox19.com/2024/07/30/bengals-unveil-unbelievable-state-of-the-art-locker-room/?outputType=amp
July 31, 2024Jul 31 An underrated part of the stadium renovation is the alignment with the east gate and Freedom Way. Much better. I would expect more curb cuts and crosswalks, but feel like we are seeing a final product at this point. Does anyone else want to nudge the signage over 1.5 structural bays?
July 31, 2024Jul 31 14 minutes ago, Chas Wiederhold said: An underrated part of the stadium renovation is the alignment with the east gate and Freedom Way. Much better. I would expect more curb cuts and crosswalks, but feel like we are seeing a final product at this point. Does anyone else want to nudge the signage over 1.5 structural bays? Truly life-altering and my favorite part of the project. And yeah, once I saw it I can't unsee it...
August 1, 2024Aug 1 Did they also upgrade the main stadium lights? I drove by during the music fest last Friday night and they had some nice blue lighting but I don't know if it was permanent or brought in for that event.
August 1, 2024Aug 1 21 minutes ago, Lazarus said: Did they also upgrade the main stadium lights? I think this was done a few years ago when they started adding Paycor signage/added lights to the roof to highlight the Paycor logo up there.
August 6, 2024Aug 6 With the latest news regarding the Browns stadium, it appears the Haslams will ask for a large amount of money from the state. Does anyone know if the state of Ohio is planning to give money to the Bengals to help renovate Paycor Stadium?
August 6, 2024Aug 6 39 minutes ago, westcoast323 said: With the latest news regarding the Browns stadium, it appears the Haslams will ask for a large amount of money from the state. Does anyone know if the state of Ohio is planning to give money to the Bengals to help renovate Paycor Stadium? Yes when the big comprehensive renovation plans are unveiled and finalized
August 12, 2024Aug 12 Jason Williams is objectively uncreative and unintelligent. He is easily manipulated by those in power. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/jason-williams/2024/08/11/nfl-cincinnati-bengals-look-new-stadium-suburbs-follow-cleveland-browns/74741607007/ It's hard to believe that somebody actually wrote this: Quote Nonetheless, the NFL is made for the suburbs. Half the NFL stadiums are either in the suburbs or outside of downtown but still in the city limits. It’s less congested. It allows for all or most of the parking to be directly adjacent to the stadium, perfect for tailgating. It allows for easier access to the freeway. Go to a game at Arrowhead in Kansas City. It’s how all NFL stadiums should’ve been done. The stadium is still in the city limits, but eight miles outside of downtown in a suburban-like area. All the parking surrounds the stadium. There are no cluttered city streets to access the stadium to and from the interstate.
August 12, 2024Aug 12 That's obviously stupid and also not really possible because of how relatively small our city limits are, but it's not even accurate for the whole NFL and especially not for our division. The AFC north all have downtown or downtown adjacent stadiums and the Browns will be the only ones in the burbs and the only one with a covered stadium making them complete outliers. Cleveland also has a light rail connection to the new stadium location, so to use his example I would be fine with a new stadium being built in Oakley... if it also came with millions in state/federal funding for a light rail system up I-71.
August 12, 2024Aug 12 Why Oakley? And why is that the go to choice for any kind of stadium project? It sucks getting around there as it is.
August 12, 2024Aug 12 Author Arrowhead is the worst example. The area around Arrowhead is abysmal, there's an abandoned Adam's Mark Hotel across the highway, no good transit, confusing layout for parking, and not even a "Live!" around it. As stated, at least Cleveland's will have rail transit and is near the airport. Arrowhead is near a Taco Bell. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 12, 2024Aug 12 Jason Williams loves arrowhead. He got dragged for calling the site beautiful because of how easy it was too get in and out of a year or so ago (yeah, if you're a reporter who shows up 2 hours before everyone else and leaves an hour after). He is doing this to troll people.
August 12, 2024Aug 12 Quote There are no cluttered city streets to access the stadium to and from the interstate. My assumption is traffic from Arrowhead is a clusterf*&k and they are all trying to get on 1-2 ramps to exit the facility at the same time. Downtown Cincinnati has 1-75 north and south, I-71 north and south (I realize the southern routes share lanes), I-471, Columbia Parkway, lots of other access points, bussing, streetcar, built in infrastructure that already exists (parking, restaurants, etc.).
August 13, 2024Aug 13 7 hours ago, Lazarus said: Jason Williams is objectively uncreative and unintelligent. He is easily manipulated by those in power. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/columnists/jason-williams/2024/08/11/nfl-cincinnati-bengals-look-new-stadium-suburbs-follow-cleveland-browns/74741607007/ It's hard to believe that somebody actually wrote this: He also dislikes Cincinnati in general and takes cheap shots with half truths and one sided view points. If we had an Arrowhead style stadium here he would write an article about how Cincinnati screwed up and let the suburbs “steal the team”.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 He is just a dull person who isn't capable of imagining why anyone would want a way of living that's different than his preferred suburban lifestyle. It's terrifying that the Enquirer let him report on transportation projects and opine about city politics for as long as they did.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 On 8/12/2024 at 4:08 PM, tonyt3524 said: "It's so beautiful" I'm surprised there aren't a bunch of skidmarks in the parking lot from autocross racing. A lot of these sad parking-surrounded stadiums have it in the summer like FedEx Field and even the Meadowlands. Edited August 14, 2024Aug 14 by GCrites
August 13, 2024Aug 13 13 minutes ago, taestell said: He is just a dull person who isn't capable of imagining why anyone would want a way of living that's different than his preferred suburban lifestyle. It's terrifying that the Enquirer let him report on transportation projects and opine about city politics for as long as they did. Terms he uses like "congested" and "easy to get in and out of" are aimed at people who are not going to be active enough to go to an NFL game before long. Street grids are far better for vacating areas than the one or two points of egress that you see in sprawl.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 3 hours ago, GCrites said: Terms he uses like "congested" and "easy to get in and out of" are aimed at people who are not going to be active enough to go to an NFL game before long. Street grids are far better for vacating areas than the one or two points of egress that you see in sprawl. Also, he's obviously completely unaware that a ramp that was halfway built 24 years ago will be completed when the new Brent Spence Bridge is built, and will single-handedly change everything: It has been the case since 2000 that all traffic exiting riverfront events and bound for I-75N or I-74W has had to enter those highways via 4th St. This will change to Third St. and so greatly reduce gridlock. Why? Because much more traffic exiting The Banks garages will simply turn left at Third St. instead of blocking east/west Third St. traffic on its crawl up to 4th St.. The northbound traffic backs onto Third St. because there is little movement on 4th St. for 30+ minutes when a big event lets out.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 11 hours ago, ucgrady said: That's obviously stupid and also not really possible because of how relatively small our city limits are, but it's not even accurate for the whole NFL and especially not for our division. The AFC north all have downtown or downtown adjacent stadiums and the Browns will be the only ones in the burbs and the only one with a covered stadium making them complete outliers. Cleveland also has a light rail connection to the new stadium location, so to use his example I would be fine with a new stadium being built in Oakley... if it also came with millions in state/federal funding for a light rail system up I-71. Also, the new domed stadium in Nashville will be right next to the existing open-air football stadium, which is right across the Cumberland River from downtown.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 The worst part of Arrowhead is that somehow (I'm assuming bags of money were involved) that abysmal sea of mediocrity got chosen to host World Cup matches. Williams is also an idiot who tried to fight an FC Cincinnati supporter for calling him a hack and admitted in a recent column that he doesn't watch the Reds.
August 13, 2024Aug 13 1 hour ago, JaceTheAce41 said: The worst part of Arrowhead is that somehow (I'm assuming bags of money were involved) that abysmal sea of mediocrity got chosen to host World Cup matches. Williams is also an idiot who tried to fight an FC Cincinnati supporter for calling him a hack and admitted in a recent column that he doesn't watch the Reds. I went to Royals' Opening Day 1997 at Kaufman Stadium, my only visit to the complex. I don't recall there being any kind of traffic at all...but then again it's not an all-day event like Reds' Opening Day and obviously not as big as a NFL game. Dodger Stadium is actually pretty similar to Kaufman Stadium, and absolutely DO remember traffic being appalling getting out of that place. I took the exit drive that intersects with Sunset Blvd., not one of the exits that goes more directly toward an expressway. But this was before everyone had GPS so maybe it's better now.
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