Paycor Stadium

• 1. The Name Above the Gate

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  Paycor Stadium's naming rights agreement, finalized on the 9th of August 2022, produced one quiet consequence for the rest of the NFL. Lambeau Field in Green Bay became the last stadium in the league still named after a person. For 22 years, Cincinnati's home had held that distinction under the name Paul Brown Stadium. Paul Brown was the Bengals' founder.

  The stadium holds 65,515 people on roughly 22 acres beside the Ohio River. Its nickname is "The Jungle," drawn in part from the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle," which serves as the team's unofficial anthem. Behind that nickname stands a building assembled at enormous public expense, one that later earned recognition from architects and ordinary Americans that few had anticipated.

• 2. The Deal That Built It

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  In 1996, Hamilton County voters agreed to raise the local sales tax by one-half percent. The revenue was earmarked for two new venues: one for the Bengals and one for MLB's Cincinnati Reds. Both franchises had shared Riverfront Stadium, later renamed Cinergy Field, for years. Both argued that the aging multipurpose facility denied small-market teams the modern amenities they needed to remain competitive.

  The Bengals stated plainly that they would leave Cincinnati without a new stadium. Construction broke ground in 1998, and the building opened on the 19th of August 2000. The public cost came to $555 million, the largest government subsidy for any NFL stadium at that time.

  The old shared home, Cinergy Field, was partially demolished to make way for Great American Ball Park. What remained of the structure was imploded in December 2002.

  In 2011, the Wall Street Journal examined the stadium deal. The newspaper described its terms as "unusually lopsided in favor of the team and risky for taxpayers." Additional costs beyond the original agreement have fallen on Hamilton County since then. By one estimate, taxpayers will have paid $1.1 billion before the 26-year agreement expires in 2026.

• 3. Architecture on the Ohio

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  NBBJ's design for the stadium gave the building open corners. Those gaps let pedestrians outside glimpse the playing field. Spectators inside look out at the downtown Cincinnati skyline and the bridges crossing the Ohio River. When the stadium opened, it became the first NFL facility to win an AIA design award. Only one other sports venue has received that recognition.

  A Harris Interactive survey of Americans produced a list of 150 favorite buildings and structures. Paycor Stadium placed 101st. The list ranged across skyscrapers, museums, churches, hotels, bridges, and national memorials. No other football stadium appeared anywhere on the list. Among sports venues, only Wrigley Field, ranked 31st, and Yankee Stadium, ranked 84th, placed higher.

  Dan Meis led the design team at NBBJ. Two LED video displays, installed in 2000, stand at each end zone. Over 200 feet of ribbon display were installed along the building's fascia. After the 2014 off-season, both the scoreboards and the ribbon displays were upgraded to larger HD models. Inside, 114 private suites and 7,600 club seats offer in-seat food and beverage service and access to the club lounges. The stadium's pro shop, on the plaza level at the north end, is supported by 56 concession stands and eight stores.

• 4. A Field in Constant Revision

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  Natural Kentucky Bluegrass covered the playing surface for the stadium's first four seasons. Maintenance problems accumulated, and the field was at one point rated the third worst in the NFL. Hamilton County examined alternatives and chose the FieldTurf synthetic system. The surface was installed for the 2004 season.

  FieldTurf's infilled artificial turf mimics the look and feel of real grass. Field markings are sewn directly into the fabric, removing the need to repaint them between games. The switch saved Hamilton County approximately $100,000 per year in maintenance costs. The reduced upkeep also made the stadium available for non-football events without risk of turf damage.

  Paycor Stadium is one of only two NFL venues with five miles of piping running beneath the playing surface. That system keeps the rubber inlays heated. In April 2012, an Act Global synthetic turf replaced the earlier installation. A further overhaul followed in 2018. Shaw Sports Turf installed a product built on Strenexe XD slit-film fibers, supported by a synthetic backing called UltraLoc.

  In February 2024, the Cincinnati Bengals announced a return to the FieldTurf brand, citing player safety concerns. The chosen product was FieldTurf CORE, making the Bengals the 8th NFL franchise to adopt it. Three smaller practice fields sit nearby: two are sodded with natural grass, and the third uses AstroTurf.

• 5. More Than a Football Venue

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  The first college football game at the stadium took place on the 21st of September 2002. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes before a sold-out crowd of 66,319. The University of Cincinnati returned to the stadium in 2014 during renovations of Nippert Stadium. The largest single-game crowd that year reached 41,926, for a matchup against Miami of Ohio.

  The Cincinnati Music Festival, formerly known as the Cincinnati Jazz Festival, has been held at the stadium every year. The first major standalone concert took place on the 1st of July 2012, when Kenny Chesney headlined alongside Tim McGraw. That show drew 42,716 of a possible 45,764 tickets and generated $3,495,146 in revenue.

  On the 6th of July 2016, Guns N' Roses performed at the stadium. Former drummer Steven Adler appeared as a special guest. Garth Brooks sold out two consecutive nights in May 2022, each drawing 80,000 people. Those dates had originally been set for the 18th of September 2021, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement.

  Taylor Swift performed on the 30th of June and the 1st of July 2023, as part of her Eras Tour. Her previous Cincinnati appearance had been on the 2010 Fearless Tour. At Paycor Stadium, she became the first female act in the venue's history to sell out a show. She was also the first female act to sell out two dates on a single tour at that venue.

  Away from concerts and football, the stadium holds the annual Queen City Classic Chess Tournament each spring. Paycor HCM Inc., a Cincinnati-based company founded by Robert J. Coughlin, holds naming rights for 16 years from 2022. That deal left Lambeau Field and Chicago's Soldier Field as the only two NFL stadiums without a naming rights partner. The University of Cincinnati is scheduled to return to the stadium on the 19th of September 2026.