Bengals Extend Stadium Lease After $350M in Public Funds for Renovation

One of the NFL’s more austere stadiums is getting a $470 million upgrade after the Bengals finalized a lease extension deal with Hamilton County, Ohio, that includes a substantial renovation to Paycor Stadium. 

The 11-year extension will keep the Bengals at the publicly owned venue through at least 2036, and calls for a series of improvements such as new scoreboards, improved suites and club lounges, a replacement of all general seating, new retail spaces, and revamped elevators and escalators. 

There are also five sets of optional two-year deals that could further extend the lease to 2046. Hamilton County will contribute $350 million toward the renovations, while the Bengals will pay $120 million. 

“This new lease keeps Paycor Stadium on par with other communities around the country and a focal point for Cincinnati’s riverfront,” Bengals EVP Katie Blackburn said. “More importantly, it solidifies the future of the Bengals in Cincinnati, our beloved home, for many years to come.”

Earlier this week, Bengals owner Mike Brown conveyed confidence that the agreement would get done, and it ultimately did after a flurry of last-minute changes.

“I believe it will be finished off in the right way and we’ll go forward together,” Brown said then. “It’s been a tough negotiation. There have been conflicting voices sometimes, and all that has been part of it. But at the end of the day, the county and the Bengals are in a partnership.”

Paycor Stadium is 25 years old, but similarly aged NFL facilities in markets such as Washington, Cleveland, Denver, and Philadelphia are either being replaced or under consideration for that. The Bengals’ deal, meanwhile, is also a significantly scaled-down version of a $830 million plan that had been previously proposed. 

“This agreement strikes the balance we needed—protecting public dollars while ensuring Paycor Stadium remains the home of the Cincinnati Bengals,” Hamilton County commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas said. “It’s a deal that begins to right the wrongs of the past.”

More Tough Negotiations

As one complex deal is now done for the Bengals, another is still outstanding as the team remains at a contract impasse with star defensive end Trey Hendrickson. The NFL’s 2024 sack leader reported to training camp this week after amassing $450,00 worth of fines in a holdout, but the contract situation remains unresolved.

Hendrickson will likely be monitoring a similarly fractious situation between the Cowboys and Micah Parsons, another standout defensive end. Any resolution that may surface with Parsons will likely influence a final deal for Hendrickson, as guaranteed pay for NFL players at positions besides quarterback continues to soar.