Paycor Stadium

Paycor Stadium, previously called Paul Brown Stadium, is an outdoor football stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is where the Cincinnati Bengals play. The Bengals are part of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium opened on August 19, 2000.

It was first named after the Bengals' founder, Paul Brown. Now, it is sponsored by Paycor. The stadium sits on about 22 acres of land and can hold seating capacity of 65,515 people. People call it “The Jungle.” The Guns N' Roses song “Welcome to the Jungle” is liked by fans because of this name.

The stadium was built with a lot of public money—$555 million. This was the largest public support for an NFL stadium at that time. The team had said they might leave Cincinnati if the city did not help pay for the stadium.

History

In 1996, people in Hamilton County voted to raise a small part of their sales tax to help build new homes for the Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds. Both teams used to share a big old stadium called Riverfront Stadium, later known as Cinergy Field, but it was too old.

Construction began in 1998, and the new stadium, first called Paul Brown Stadium, opened in August 2000. The old stadium was torn down to make way for a new baseball park.

The field inside the stadium started with real grass, but it was hard to take care of. In 2004, they changed it to a special artificial turf called FieldTurf, which looks and feels like real grass. The turf was updated a few more times to keep it safe for players.

The stadium has big screens to show the game, and displays to show scores and information. In 2022, the stadium got a new name, Paycor Stadium, after a local company that agreed to pay for the naming rights for many years.

Notable events

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the Ohio State Buckeyes played their first college football game at the stadium on September 21, 2002, and many fans watched. Other college teams like the Kentucky Wildcats, Miami Redhawks, and Oklahoma have also played there.

Besides football, the stadium holds the Cincinnati Music Festival each year. It used to be called the Cincinnati Jazz Festival.

The stadium is also a special place for the Queen City Classic Chess Tournament every spring.

Features

Paycor Stadium has offices and training areas for the Cincinnati Bengals. The playing field uses special artificial grass made by Show Sports Turf. There are also three smaller practice fields nearby. Two of these have real grass, and one has AstroTurf.

Some bus companies help fans travel to and from the stadium from different places in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. For example, the Cincinnati Metro runs a bus called the Jungle-to-Jungle Express from Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, which is near Cincinnati.

Fans can choose to sit in special private rooms called suites or in club seats. In these areas, they can get food and drinks and visit club lounges. The stadium also has a shop where fans can buy team merchandise. There are also many places to buy food and drinks during games.

Architecture

The stadium was designed by the architectural firm NBBJ, led by Dan Meis. It was the first NFL facility to win an award for design. The open corners of the stadium let fans see inside, and they can also enjoy views of the downtown skyline and bridges over the Ohio River.

Paycor Stadium is the only football stadium to be included in a list of "America's favorite 150 buildings and structures." It ranked 101st on this list, which included many types of important structures. No other football stadium was voted among the top 150. Among all sports venues, only Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium ranked higher.