Paul Brown Stadium, the new home of the Cincinnati Bengals NFL team, opened in August 2000.
The stadium project on Cincinnati's river front employed as many as 1,000
workers daily during construction up until June 2000 when the Bengals' coaches
and staff moved into their new 65,600-seat stadium. In just under two years,
the 40-acre site was transformed into the Bengals' third home since the team's
inception in 1968.
One of the project's claims to fame is that it was one of the safest of
its kind. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
the number of job-site injuries and illnesses incurred during construction
of the stadium was significantly lower than the national median average for
such projects.
STADIUM SITE
The stadium site is approximately five blocks west of the current Cinergy
Field. Pete Rose Way borders it on the north, Mehring Way on the south, Elm
Street on the east and Central Avenue on the west. The southern border of
the stadium will be one block from the Ohio River, and will be connected
to the riverfront with a public park.
STADIUM DESIGN
The stadium's asymmetrical, open-ended design offers views of the downtown
skyline and the riverfront. In addition, almost 70% of the seats are along
the sidelines providing close-to-the-action sight lines – even from upper-level
luxury boxes and low-tiered end zones.
There are 70,000 seats over three levels at the sidelines, with 100 luxury
boxes stacked in two tiers. All luxury suites and 7,500 club seats are planned
for the sidelines.
Moody/Nolan was the associate architect and engineer working with NBBJ
Sports & Entertainment. Moody/Nolan's work involved designing all concession
facilities, club seats, suite areas and NFL offices, as well as civil engineering
of the site.
CONSTRUCTION
Getz Ventures managed the project with the construction work being carried
out by a joint venture of Turner/Barton Malow/D.A.G., which was set up specifically for the Paul Brown Stadium.
Dugan & Meyers Construction Co. and Baker Concrete Construction Inc.,
in Monroe, were awarded the £31.4 million ($44 million) contract for the
stadium. Baker carried out the concrete work for the stadium's superstructure
and Dugan & Meyers provided the management services.
CANOPY
The roof is in the shape of a swoosh, the signature on the Paul Brown
Stadium. It is made of brown fiberglass fabric,with two pieces of arching
canopy running atop the upper deck on each side.
750t of steel, which was shipped in 40ft sections, holds the canopy in
place on the football stadium's upper deck. The steel also secures a catwalk,
lights and a portion of the stadium's sound system.
The canopy, which is made of a Teflon-coated fibreglass called Sheerfill,
protects a few thousand people in the upper deck from rain, sun and snow.
There is a continuous bank of lights hidden beneath the canopy, making the fabric glow at night even when the stadium is empty.
The £4.1 million ($5.7 million) canopy, including the steel, was installed
by Birdair. The company has installed the same material as the roof of the
Georgia Dome and the Millennium Dome in London. It is 70ft wide in the centre
and tapers off to about 45ft wide on the ends, which jut out beyond the edges
of the seating bowl.
The fabric was brown when it went up but has turned white after being
bleached by the sun for a few months. As it is Teflon-coated, dirt and grime
will not stick to it. The canopy is designed to last 25–30 years.
PRIVATE SUITES
Each of the 114 suites has retractable glass windows along with twelve
spacious fixed stadium seats and four elevated seats at a drink rail with
a view of the game.
PAUL BROWN
The new stadium honours the late Paul Brown, the pro football Hall of
Famer who brought pro football to Cincinnati in 1968 as Bengals founder,
general manager and head coach.
PUBLIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
There are two end-zone scoreboards, both with video capability designed
by Acoustic Dimensions. The company's design brief for the stadium was to
include acoustic design, the sound system, scoreboards, large screen displays,
distributed video (MATV) systems, broadcast cabling and a coaching video
system along with audio and video systems for private suites, restaurants,
clubs and concourses.
The system features the largest video display boards ever implemented
in an NFL stadium, designed to work in tandem with a distributed audio system
delivering extraordinary low-frequency reinforcement backed by a host of
ancillary systems for the clubs, MATV, team administrative areas and more.
The solution also included broadcast booths and the scoreboard video control
room. The control room is capable of producing game-day video, commercials,
and coaches shows.
STADIUM MANAGEMENT
Cincinnati Bengals manage the Paul Brown Stadium on behalf of Hamilton
County. Suzanne Burke, director of administrative services/director of stadium
development for the county authority, oversees the stadium.
STADIUM FACTS
Directions: From I-75 Southbound, use exits at Freeman Avenue and 2nd Street;
from I-75 Northbound, use exits at 2nd Street and 5th Street in Ohio;
from I-71 Southbound, use exits at 3rd Street or Gilbert Avenue; from I-471 Northbound, use exits at 3rd Street or 6th Street.
PARKING: South of Third Street adjacent to the stadium is sold out with pre-paid season parking. North of Third Street ranges from $10-$20. West of Central Avenue is limited game-by-game parking.
Metro has various shuttle pickups throughout the Cincinnati area that drop off at the Riverfront Transit Center underneath Second Street between Elm and Race Streets. Round trip is $5, one way $3.
TANK has various shuttle pickups throughout Northern Kentucky. Each trip is $3 for adults, $1 for children.
B&B Riverboats runs a $2 round-trip ride from Covington Landing. Queen City Riverboats has a $3 round-trip ticket from Hooters and The Beer Sellar in Newport.
Location: The stadium is approximately five blocks west of Cinergy Field. It is bordered by Pete Rose Way on the north, Mehring Way on the south, Elm Street on the east and Central Avenue on the west. The southern border of the stadium is one block from the Ohio River, and will be connected to the riverfront with a public park.
Dimensions: The stadium covers approximately 22 acres and is 157 feet high.
Seating Capacity: The stadium has 65,535 seats on three levels, including 7,600 club seats and 114 private suites.
Playing Surface: Natural turf, heated to extend growing season and prevent frozen field.
Private Suites: Each of the 114 suites features retractable glass windows, allowing fans the option to watch in climate-controlled comfort or to bring in the outdoor experience. Suite holders enjoy premium parking, an exclusive entrance, specialized catering, personalized concierge service and elegant interior designs. Suites include 12 spacious fixed stadium seats and four elevated seats at a drink rail with a view of the game.
Club Seating: Club patrons enjoy extra-wide, padded seats at the prime football viewing level with in-seat food and beverage service, and access to the Club Level Lounges featuring fine dining as well as prime views of the downtown skyline or riverfront.
Total Enclosed Area: 1,850,000 square feet (over 40 acres)
Fully accessible: Ramps, elevators, escalators, and stairs; Accessible to handicapped individuals.
Scoreboards: Two end-zone scoreboards, both with video capability.
Concessions: 56 fixed locations with varied menu themes; a total of 400 points of sale.
Rest Room Facilities: More than 1,200 fixtures, with separate individual family areas.
Team Facilities: Administrative offices, training facility, coaches' offices, meeting rooms.
Adjacent Practice Facility: Two natural turf fields and one artificial turf field.
Retail Sales: Retail store housing NFL merchandise and eight fixed locations for novelty sales plus portable stands.
Design Drawings: Over 1,700 drawings produced by the architects and engineers. Pasted together these would cover almost a half acre.
Reinforced Steel: Over 11,000 tons of steel bars to reinforce the cast in place concrete. If the average bar was one inch in diameter, this would stretch for 1,560 miles.
* Cast in Place Concrete: About 95,000 cubic yards of concrete were poured.
* Structural Steel: Over 9,100 tons of structural steel.
* Doors: Over 1,200 individual doors.
* Electrical wiring: Over 330 miles of electrical wire were be installed.
* Drywall: Over 1,438,000 square feet of drywall.
* Landscaping: Over 8,000 trees and shrubs were planted around the stadium.
Image of Paul Brown Stadium by SeatData.com
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Paul Brown Stadium Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 9 |
| Concessions | | 6 |
| Scoreboard | | 8 |
| Ushers | | 4 |
| Fan Support | | 5 |
| Location | | 7.5 |
| Banners/History | | 5 |
| Entertainment | | 5 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 7.5 |
| Bonus: Tailgate Scene | | 2 |
| Bonus: USRT Assist | | 2 |
| Bonus: Jungle Zone | | 1 |
| Total Score |  | 62 |
November 5, 2000
September 19, 2004
September 18, 2005 - Paul Brown Stadium is set on the Cincinnati waterfront, just adjacent to their new Great American Ballpark (what a terrific corporate name!). The two new stadiums wanchor a whole new waterfront redevelopment which will include new retail, housing, parkland and the National Underground Freedom Center, a world class museum celebrating the city's role as a transit point for runaway slaves during the 19th century.
The stadium seats almost 66,000 and is unmistakably striking in its asymmetrical architecture. Unlike Cinergy Field, you can enjoy sweeping views of the city scape from almost anywhere in the building - whether it be the city skyline at one end or the river and Covington Kentucky from the other. When we visited there was still plenty of road construction going on around the stadium, but it was still easy to navigate, and plenty of tailgating going on (though not in size and scope to that here in Buffalo).
Outside the stadium is a huge plaza area, and there was plenty of entertainment and events going on outside.. also the Bengals set up concessions and points of sale outside the stadium, as well as ample tables and chairs so fans could enjoy a pregame snack or a beverage and just sit and enjoy the music and people watch. Being a sun drenched 60 degree day, we took opportunity to enjoy the ambience.
The Bowl
Once inside we were impressed at the canyon wide concourses, the many ramps and staircases and escalators to the upper level (named the "canopy level" yes there is a canvas canopy covering a portion of the top stands). There are gigantic jumbotrons at each end zone, with one of the jumbotrons being off center to add to the asymmetrical look. A huge team store is located at the south end zone, and all concession stands have a scrolling message board above it, although they seemed to be used for advertising only and not for game/score information. On the sideline balconies were LED sideline boards, displaying not only stats and information but crystal clear video graphics and cool advertisements.
Retired Numbers/Banners
None at all displayed inside the bowl, but there are huge murals of past Bengals greats along the sideline plaza level concourses.
Our one criticism of this venue was its lack of color - the entire building on the outside and much of the inside is a drab gray or plaster/white, and the walls are screaming for some colorful ads, banners, and team color black/orange accents. The building itself is so beautiful, but there is a compelling need for a stadium interior designer to come in and finish the job. From what we were told of the reputation of Bengals president Mike Brown, he is not the most civic minded/fan friendly type, so that is not about to happen anytime soon.
Things that Caught our Eye
Send this one straight to the HR department - the team salutes employees of the month with their names and photos on the jumbotron during a TV timeout. Season ticket holders can nominate a particularly friendly usher, vendor, security guard etc. Apparently the staff there really competes for this honor!
Already this new venue is a terrific football experience - with a little spit and polish, completion of the waterfront plan and maybe a competitive team, this could be one of the best venues in the NFL.
BENGALS END LEASE PAYMENTS TO COUNTY
January 22, 2009
Copyright 2009 MediaVentures
Cincinnati, Ohio - The Cincinnati Bengals have made their last rent payment for Paul Brown
Stadium, and in 10 more years taxpayers will start paying part of the salaries of tomorrow's Ocho
Cincos and Carson Palmers.
Hamilton County Commission President David Pepper says that's a problem, and wants help
from the Bengals or the NFL.
But Bengals owner Mike Brown said the team is being scapegoated again.
With county budget deficits causing cuts in jail space, prisoner releases and public safety
concerns, Pepper said he's considering a plea to the NFL for a bailout.
"It may be a Don Quixote mission, but it's worth raising," he said. "It's a bleak contrast. We
have this first-rate stadium on the river, and 10 blocks north we have an under-funded county
government."
Brown replied, "I'm surprised at the remarkable staying power of the political arguments
around this project. There have been many attempts to scapegoat this situation for political
reasons. I just think it's odd how it has cropped up here."
Pepper had no specific plans but said the county may try to meet with the Bengals. "It would be
nice to get some kind of relief and sit down and work it out."
Hamilton County residents voted 61 percent to 39 percent to pass a half-cent sales tax in 1996
to build a new stadium and keep the Bengals. The county and Bengals then negotiated a lease. The
Bengals' final lease payment under the May 29, 1997 contract was paid this month.
The annual rent payments started at $1.7 million in 2001, then dropped by $100,000 each
following year, for a final payment of $900,000 on Jan. 10, 2009. Payments were $11.7 million, but about $3 million for two years (2002 and 2003) was not paid, while a lawsuit by the IRS involving the Bengals and the county was in dispute.
After 2018, taxpayers start paying the Bengals. The contract caps the county's first payment at
$2.67 million, then allows payments to increase 5 percent each year.
For the nine years ending in 2027, the contract requires the county to pay the Bengals "for any
and all expenses of any nature whatsoever incurred by the Team relating to the Stadium Complex
for the immediately preceding lease year."
In other words, the county pays all stadium costs - maintenance, cleanup, utilities, repairs. One
clause in the contract requires the county to add any improvements that are adopted by at least 14 other NFL teams, including new turf, new video screens, new sound systems or even "holographic
replays."
Brown said the contract Hamilton County got is better than many NFL stadium deals.
In all, the team contributed about $40 million, the Bengals' Blackburn said. The difference is
that the county wanted the team's rent up front, because it was facing two ballpark projects, for the Bengals and Reds, he said.
Brown said his team's gross annual revenue is about $200 million, while teams such as the New
York Giants or Washington Redskins bring in up to $350 million.
As player salaries rise and ticket sales stay flat or decline during bad years, like the latest losing season, the Bengals will need help to keep up with other teams, Brown said. "That's exactly why the deal was structured the way it was," he said. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
VALUE OF BENGALS' LICENSES DROPS
February 5, 2009
Copyright 2009 MediaVentures
Cincinnati, Ohio - The losing season of 2008 hasn't been tough on just the Bengals. The team's fans - along with ticket brokers - who had financially invested in the Bengals' success are feeling let down now that their seat license contracts are looking less like blue-chip stocks and more like junk bonds.
In less than two years, the average street price of a Paul Brown Stadium Charter Ownership
Agreement sold on the trading exchange, SeasonTicketRight.com, dropped from $2,783 to $536.
Charter Ownership Agreements, or COAs, aren't season tickets. They are merely the rights to
buy season tickets for individual seats at Paul Brown Stadium.
Ownership of a COA has been a season ticket requirement since the stadium opened in 2000,
but the contracts can be resold at market price, giving season-ticket holders the option of using the Bengals success - or lack thereof - as an investment tool.
With the arrival of coach Marvin Lewis in 2003 , Bengals seats became such a hot item that a
season-ticket waiting list developed, driving up the secondary market price for COAs, which have a face value of $300-$1,500 depending on the seat location.
By February 2007, a pair of section 217 seats sold for $8,000 at SeasonTicketRights.com.
Similar COAs today (section 218) are listed for $600, following a 4-11-1 season.
"It's definitely a buying opportunity right now with the Bengals," said Kyle Burks, president of
SeasonTicketRight.com. "You're not going to see COAs get much cheaper than this. The majority
of fans purchase COAs as an emotional purchase and don't really care about appreciation in value.
But, if you buy now on Bengals COAs, you're probably going to see a significant increase in value
over the next four years."
At the other end of the market are the Pittsburgh Steelers who are playing in the AFC
Championship game Sunday. A pack of four Steelers seat licenses recently sold for $91,000, and
the average Steelers seat license price in December was $8,970.
The Bengals realize fans are frustrated and financially squeezed. So with a Jan. 30 deadline
approaching for club seat renewals, the team is offering a sort of bailout. COA holders of club seats, which feature access to club level lounges, need only to renew their tickets for two more years, which might be welcome relief for fans whose lengthy club leases just expired.
If enough fans are convinced to hold on to their COAs by renewing season tickets, the Bengals
could continue their streak of 44 straight sold-out games at Paul Brown Stadium. But Burks said
the market price for upper deck COAs are especially low right now because so many fans are trying
to sell them, creating a case of too much supply for the demand. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
