Paycor Stadium will look and feel different for fans who attend Cincinnati Bengals games this fall.
When the Bengals signed an 11-year lease with Hamilton County in August 2025, one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle was ironing out a plan for improvements needed at Paycor Stadium. Paycor Stadium will remain the home for the Bengals through the 2036 season with up to 10 additional option years to follow.
The two sides agreed on a fund of $470 million to modernize the 25-year-old stadium. The Bengals’ investment covers 75 percent of new improvements, and Hamilton County funds the rest. Phase 1 renovations are complete and the goal is to have Phase 2 completed in 2027.
The Enquirer, alongside other local media outlets, received a tour of the completed renovations at Paycor Stadium from Bengals director of stadium and event operations Duane Haring and director of fan acquisition and development Payton Phillips on Aug. 7.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the tour, including visuals of the changes at Paycor Stadium.
Upgraded club suites, new suites added to top level of Paycor Stadium
The Bengals prioritized updating their current suites and creating space for new ones in their first phase of renovations.
They fully renovated 132 suites in Paycor Stadium. The team also surveyed its stadium to determine where to add more luxury seating while modernizing 25-year-old suites.
“The steps we took here were to think about how we take a confined amount of square footage and make it feel like we really gained a lot of square footage,” Haring said. “And I think we achieved that mark.”
Every existing suite was redesigned with expanded lounge areas, updated restrooms, new furniture, countertops, and an enhanced food and beverage experience, including full-size refrigerators.
“We’ve really taken a look at the functionality of this pace to ensure this really works for what the fans are doing when they’re in the suite,” Haring said.
The bridge suites, located on the 300 level, are new to the stadium. In hopes of providing fans with more “club-style” access at a more affordable price, the Bengals decided to convert what was once outdoor space to furnished indoor suites.
They added five suites, including four bridge suites that fit a lower capacity than the club-level suites.
“It really has captured some underutilized square footage in the building and made it now a useful, very popular and attractive part of our building,” Haring said.
Updated control room focused on enhancing video replay, gameday experience
If you’ve been impressed by the changes the Bengals made at Paycor Stadium on gameday, it’s about to get even better.
The Bengals place a premium on trying to create the best homefield advantage as they can. Majority of this work is done in the team control room, and the Bengals spent a lot of time and money improving every part of this area of the stadium.
They installed an IP-based 4K system with additional cameras and replay feeds to increase the gameday fan experience, the team said. The idea behind this was to improve their video and audio assets to make them more compatible with new technology.
The Bengals said they have about 50 people working in the control room for a home game.
Upgraded concession options with speed and accessibility at forefront
The Bengals want their fans to spend as much time in their seats as possible and this means speeding up the time spent in line for refreshments and food.
Grab-and-go “Go Route” locations and self-checkout kiosks were added to the canopy level. Remodeling this part of the stadium has allowed for more space for fans on the concourse.
There will be more areas for fans to gather around the stadium
For fans who prefer viewing the game from decks and lounge areas, the Bengals have added even more to the stadium.
Club lounges were renovated and expanded to feature additional interior and exterior seating, new bars, enhanced food and beverage offerings, and more points of sale to increase service speed. They redesigned the spaces to offer a more open layout for fans to enjoy natural light and views.
At the canopy level, the Bengals added a new deck for fans to gather with an impressive view of the field and the river.
“This is a new rooftop deck where fans who have standing room only (SRO) and canopy tickets are welcome to gather and watch the game,” Phillips said.
New and additional escalators and stairs were added to both club and suite entrances to help fans enter and exit the stadium.
The Bengals renovated all restrooms in Paycor Stadium
The team said all restrooms in the stadium were renovated with updated lighting, flooring, walls and ceilings to “provide a brighter, more contemporary experience.” Nursing rooms were also renovated to accommodate mothers and young children.
Additionally, the team redesigned its stadium pro shop to improve traffic flow and increase merchandise.
This marks the first phase of what will be a lengthy process for improvements to come at Paycor Stadium. The Bengals are pleased with the amount of work they were able to get done and say the fans who’ve been able to see the changes have given positive remarks.
“We got a massive amount of work done in about six months,” Haring said. “You think about not being able to do anything until that very last home game was played and then bringing in crew to demolish suites literally the very next morning. Just an impressive amount of work, seven days a week, all offseason to get this done.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 takeaways from Bengals’ tour of Paycor Stadium with new upgrades
Reporting by Kelsey Conway, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kelsey Conway, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
