Somewhat lost in the hype of the Cincinnati Bengals possibly selling the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium is the fact there are planned upgrades in the works, too.
Those upgrades could include a live sports betting club, a night club, a skybridge connecting upper concourses, the introduction of districts, a bigger scoreboard and quite a bit more.
Through a public record request to Hamilton County, WCPO’s Paula Christian obtained a 45-page document containing the hypothetical upgrades.
County spokesperson Bridget Doherty issued a statement to Christian: “The Gensler presentation is a conceptual outline of ideas guiding the overall master planning process. None of these ideas are final. We expect the final master plan by the end of this year that incorporates the capital plan that was released publicly in April.”
While none of the ideas are final, past reports have indicated the upgrades to PBS could cost in the $500 million range. The team’s lease expires in 2026, so this is due diligence before the final plans get released around November.
From the looks of things, many of the upgrades center around simply improving the flow of people through the stadium, including adding more escalators. Things like districts and more sponsorship opportunities — plus selling the naming rights — both help modernize things and create more cash flow for a team that’s going to need it with big upcoming contracts to do.
