Have you ever been to Paul Brown Stadium?

[Roland]

For all the complaints about the quality of PBS, the number one narrative about it has been the ridiculous cost and how much of that cost the taxpayers payed.  The only way it was going to be nicer would be if the Browns payed for it to be nicer and Mike Brown was perfectly happy with a utilitarian stadium.

Architecturally from outside PBS is one of the best looking stadiums in its class.  It's not a football palace but it's sleek and modern with great lines.  You should be proud to have such a fine looking stadium in your town instead of the big brick lump that many cities have.  

Inside, yes, there's too much bare concrete and steel.  I wonder how many millions it would have costed to dress that up.  Maybe we'll find out in the renovation.   But in design, it's great.  Almost every seat is good and the open design lets you see that you're in PBS in Cincinnati, Ohio, not some anonymous, ubiquitous bowl in anytown, USA.  

Orange seats instead of green is one area where a little bit of money would have improved the spirit of the place considerably.

The food is not good.  My advice is to skip eating and watch the game.    If you're driving from Columbus (as I do) a breakfast sammich on the drive is the ticket.  Maybe some popcorn at the game (not bad if it's fresh) and then get some real food afterward.

With success and community interest, maybe we'll see more brand name food stands.  Most of the concessions are staffed by whatever volunteer group is on deck that week and I don't see quality food places trusting them to slop out their grub.  They can barely fill a cup and put a dog on a bun in less the five minutes.  So the good food is going to be in the less common branded concessions. Right now there are some Goldstars, a Buffalo Wings n Rings, and a Love, Tenders, & Chicken.  No idea of the quality of those because I've never bothered to search them out.   Some stands have Gliers Bratts but I wouldn't give that stuff to my dogs.  Hopefully that list will expand and improve this year.  A list of locations is here:

https://www.bengals.com/stadium/concessions

Someone said that the pizza was LaRosa's but what we got in the club lounge two years ago was definitely not.  LaCardboard's maybe.  I think they offered Poppa John's for a while but not last season.

Then there's the atmosphere.  The atmosphere in PBS was great for the first ten years. It started to slide during the string of playoff disappointments and then the '15 Steelers playoff loss killed it.  By that time PBS had become a destination stadium for opposing fans and the sullen Bengal fans who did show up sat on their hands lest they be humiliated.

Bengal fans should have seen enough during Burrow's first aborted season to be chomping at the bit to return to the stadium from the start of last season.  Instead we were treated to a stadium half full of Packer, Browns, and Steeler fans.  Bengal fans had created this "playoff win" litmus test where they weren't going to support the team without one.  And they missed most of the greatest Bengal season to date as a result.

I'm sure that the atmosphere will be rockin' this year with all these born-again Bengals fans joining us in the stadium.  I hope they get a good long run of winning football and don't have to weather any disappointments.  

[BengalFanInNJ]

Jersey guy here. LaRosa's pizza sucks.

(ducks out of room as bottles are thrown).

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-29-2022, 11:29 AM)Marlon23 Wrote: Have you ever been to Paul Brown Stadium?  If so what were your thoughts, and if not why not?  

What did you like about the Stadium, the design, the surroundings, atmosphere, etc...

I was a season ticket holder for the first roughly 20 years of the stadium opening.  Here are my thoughts in pro and con form:

Pro:

Good sightlines from virtually every seat.  There really aren't any bad seats there.

Comfortable, bigger seats, with fixed cup holders in front of you. (although you are all but guaranteed to bang your knee on a few entering or exiting.

Parking around the stadium is accessible and fairly cheap.  We always parked on 7th street and maybe had to walk a little over half a mile, but we got right out and on I-71 to drive back to Centerville.

Food choices were just ok, but I am not one that really goes to a ballpark for the food.  The Reds dominate in this arena.  

Big bathrooms, with tons of urinals.  Only oversight was a small door entrance which gets a little clogged when folks are entering and exiting, but you can usually take a piss in a matter of minutes.  Nice that they pipe in the sound and they are heated as well.  

The location on the banks (now that they actually have something there and not just a pile of dirt) is awesome.  Great view of the city one way and the river the other. 

Tickets are very affordable relative to most NFL games.  

Cons:

Spent seemingly a TON of the budget on the club lounge area.  You have to have club seats to enter, and the food there is excellent as is the atmosphere. Lots of comfy seats to relax on, tons of screens so you don't miss anything.  These are the seats that always look empty because those seat holders are back in the club lounge socializing.  Not really my crowd (I won't want to miss a snap) but as a massive generalization, they aren't the die hard fans.  There are a lot of business tickets at the club lounge.  

Appearance is just average.  I thought they were going to do some cool video on the "canopies" that was illustrated in the earlier designs, but it never happened.  The screens that show scores around the league are tiny.  Lots of areas look "unfinished" where there is like insulation and ventilation pieces visible from underneath.

This actually changed recently, as I went to the Ring of Honor unveil game on Thursday Night and the SOUND is now amazing.  For years it sucked.  Ditto the fireworks off the stadium roof.  Really cool experience, especially at night.  

Ingress/Egress is just ok, the lame escalator only works part of the time and my 90 year old dad gets questioned when he takes the elevator (classless).  I know a stadium isn't probably the best environment for a 90 year old, but there should have been more elevators for elderly folks.  He has no problems at GABP. 

That's about it.  I have been to Lucas Oil stadium and Ford Field and found those to be amazing. I would give them As and PBS about a C-.  It would have been a D- before the recent improvements to the sound system and fireworks/entertainment. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-29-2022, 11:50 AM)ochocincos Wrote: You must have sat in a nice section, as not all seats are padded (at least not since I've been there).

Club seats are all padded, the rest of hollow plastic, which is still tons better than hard metal in the cold months.  And they do have a little give to them.  

They have the helmet embossed on all the seats, which I think aided in their decision not to change the design, but the colors for the alt helmet. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-29-2022, 12:48 PM)Sled21 Wrote: So, stadium food then.....

They sell LaRosa's pizzas at every game I have been to. What I don't like is they put double pepperoni on it and it overpowers it.

So they have chicken tenders, burgers, hotdogs and chili dogs, pizza, popcorn, nachos, pretzels. What else are you looking for?

On the 300 level, there was always an option for an amazing big hot dog (it wasn't a sausage, but it was a foot long and thick...keep it clean, guys) that came smothered in fresh grilled onions and peppers.  I would rarely get it, but I loved it.  I usually just got a bag of peanuts to tie us over during the game and we would stop at dinner on the way home.  

Now, at a prime time game...I could see a greater need for more real dinner options.  I believe they could step this up quite a bit.  They have MUCH better choices in the club lounge.  How hard would it be to expand those choices to the rest of the folks?  

I would love to see a partnership with someone like FIVE GUYS to offer their amazing burgers and fries at games, and free up the other stands for just hot dogs, etc.  

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-30-2022, 11:11 AM)TecmoBengals Wrote: The stadium was fine, but clearly can't compete with the new ones being built nor do I think it will have any historical charm as it ages.

Not attacking you, Tecmo, but I hear this a lot from fans, but more from visiting fans.

People have to understand what we are as a city and as a football team.  It is a small market, with a FRACTION of the population of places like Dallas, LA, etc.  Those mega-stadiums are incredible, but would we really want to share a stadium with another team like the Rams/Chargers and Jets/Giants?  That is one of the way they made those crazy expensive venues work.  They bring in double the revenue for one building.  

It just doesn't make sense to have a stadium for 8 home games (maybe 9, or even up to 11 if you count preseaon) that costs over $2 billion.  I believe it was built for less than half a billion and since it houses the corporate offices there are well, I think that is pretty reasonable for the area.

Little details that have been MASSIVELY improved since Elizabeth joined the fray (which I don't believe is a coincidence) like the WIFI, the sound in the stadium, the fireworks off the stadium roof, etc. are tangible upgrades that you can feel while not blowing the budget.  The Reds get this.  Really cool restaurants, themes (the big steam boat in the outfield with a roof viewing area), and the really nice concourses would not be hard to duplicate without breaking the bank. 

Sure, it may cost that much again to do a big overhaul of PBS, but if they get another 20 years out of it, the stadium should be a fun, competitive environment that brings money to the downtown and I also REALLY love the fact that you can walk to everything if you decide to stay overnight downtown.  The casino adding rooms (I think?) will only help make that experience more fun as well.

I have never seen a concert at PBS, but I have heard that the sound is really good which isn't always the case in some stadium venues (due to echo).

[TecmoBengals]

(08-01-2022, 09:26 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Not attacking you, Tecmo, but I hear this a lot from fans, but more from visiting fans.

People have to understand what we are as a city and as a football team.  It is a small market, with a FRACTION of the population of places like Dallas, LA, etc.  Those mega-stadiums are incredible, but would we really want to share a stadium with another team like the Rams/Chargers and Jets/Giants?  That is one of the way they made those crazy expensive venues work.  They bring in double the revenue for one building.  

It just doesn't make sense to have a stadium for 8 home games (maybe 9, or even up to 11 if you count preseaon) that costs over $2 billion.  I believe it was built for less than half a billion and since it houses the corporate offices there are well, I think that is pretty reasonable for the area.

Little details that have been MASSIVELY improved since Elizabeth joined the fray (which I don't believe is a coincidence) like the WIFI, the sound in the stadium, the fireworks off the stadium roof, etc. are tangible upgrades that you can feel while not blowing the budget.  The Reds get this.  Really cool restaurants, themes (the big steam boat in the outfield with a roof viewing area), and the really nice concourses would not be hard to duplicate without breaking the bank. 

Sure, it may cost that much again to do a big overhaul of PBS, but if they get another 20 years out of it, the stadium should be a fun, competitive environment that brings money to the downtown and I also REALLY love the fact that you can walk to everything if you decide to stay overnight downtown.  The casino adding rooms (I think?) will only help make that experience more fun as well.

I have never seen a concert at PBS, but I have heard that the sound is really good which isn't always the case in some stadium venues (due to echo).

No attack perceived with your reply. 

I'm good with the stadium for its intended purpose, 8 NFL games a year with some other events or games peppered in. Comparing it to the latest expensive stadiums is just me dreaming big even though I know such a stadium likely isn't practical for Cincinnati.

Hopefully the Brown family ownership, seemingly through Elizabeth, continues to review ways to make the stadium an overall fun place to be for watching a game. 

[BFritz21]

I have no problem with it because the seats in the crippled section are the best seats in the place (I am severely pissed that "normal" people bought all the tickets in that section besides for two this year).

I do wish that they would get high-tech displays and everything all over the field and maybe some updates to make it nicer, but I honestly don't pay much attention to anything besides for the game.

All that could very well change after I'm in AT&T Stadium when we play the Cowboys on September 18th

[SunsetBengal]

(07-29-2022, 12:48 PM)Sled21 Wrote: So, stadium food then.....

They sell LaRosa's pizzas at every game I have been to. What I don't like is they put double pepperoni on it and it overpowers it.

So they have chicken tenders, burgers, hotdogs and chili dogs, pizza, popcorn, nachos, pretzels. What else are you looking for?

Wow Chad, do you also find the mayonnaise in your potato salad to be a bit spicy at Summer gatherings?  

[Nicomo Cosca]

Double pepperoni? If anything, LaRosa’s doesn’t put enough pepperoni on their pizza. And you have to tell them bastards to put it on top of the cheese like it should be.

[shuffle]

(07-29-2022, 11:29 AM)Marlon23 Wrote: Have you ever been to Paul Brown Stadium?  If so what were your thoughts, and if not why not?  

What did you like about the Stadium, the design, the surroundings, atmosphere, etc...

Will be making my first visit for the Chiefs game in December.

[Marlon23]

Saturday - Back Together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Pezm-EGu0

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-01-2022, 08:55 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I was a season ticket holder for the first roughly 20 years of the stadium opening.  Here are my thoughts in pro and con form:

Pro:

Good sightlines from virtually every seat.  There really aren't any bad seats there.

Comfortable, bigger seats, with fixed cup holders in front of you. (although you are all but guaranteed to bang your knee on a few entering or exiting.

Parking around the stadium is accessible and fairly cheap.  We always parked on 7th street and maybe had to walk a little over half a mile, but we got right out and on I-71 to drive back to Centerville.

Food choices were just ok, but I am not one that really goes to a ballpark for the food.  The Reds dominate in this arena.  

Big bathrooms, with tons of urinals.  Only oversight was a small door entrance which gets a little clogged when folks are entering and exiting, but you can usually take a piss in a matter of minutes.  Nice that they pipe in the sound and they are heated as well.  

The location on the banks (now that they actually have something there and not just a pile of dirt) is awesome.  Great view of the city one way and the river the other. 

Tickets are very affordable relative to most NFL games.  

Cons:

Spent seemingly a TON of the budget on the club lounge area.  You have to have club seats to enter, and the food there is excellent as is the atmosphere. Lots of comfy seats to relax on, tons of screens so you don't miss anything.  These are the seats that always look empty because those seat holders are back in the club lounge socializing.  Not really my crowd (I won't want to miss a snap) but as a massive generalization, they aren't the die hard fans.  There are a lot of business tickets at the club lounge.  

Appearance is just average.  I thought they were going to do some cool video on the "canopies" that was illustrated in the earlier designs, but it never happened.  The screens that show scores around the league are tiny.  Lots of areas look "unfinished" where there is like insulation and ventilation pieces visible from underneath.

This actually changed recently, as I went to the Ring of Honor unveil game on Thursday Night and the SOUND is now amazing.  For years it sucked.  Ditto the fireworks off the stadium roof.  Really cool experience, especially at night.  

Ingress/Egress is just ok, the lame escalator only works part of the time and my 90 year old dad gets questioned when he takes the elevator (classless).  I know a stadium isn't probably the best environment for a 90 year old, but there should have been more elevators for elderly folks.  He has no problems at GABP. 

That's about it.  I have been to Lucas Oil stadium and Ford Field and found those to be amazing. I would give them As and PBS about a C-.  It would have been a D- before the recent improvements to the sound system and fireworks/entertainment. 

EDIT:  When the Bengals are on the road and open the stadium for watch parties, I believe the club lounge is open to all.  It is really a cool area.  Like I said though, it feels like 80% of the budget went to the club lounge, which isn't a big area at all. 

[Housh]

Iv been

Great area

Great field and overall color contrast between the colors, endzones, logos, etc.


Concession area is ghetto….sorry but it is. That’s my only downside tho

[BFritz21]

(08-02-2022, 09:03 PM)Housh Wrote: Iv been

Great area

Great field and overall color contrast between the colors, endzones, logos, etc.  


Concession area is ghetto….sorry but it is. That’s my only downside tho

That's what I was saying 

[Sled21]

(08-01-2022, 05:27 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Wow Chad, do you also find the mayonnaise in your potato salad to be a bit spicy at Summer gatherings?  

Damn son, it was a personal observation. Since my first job in 1976 was working at a LaRosa's cooking pizzas, I'm picky. So sue me....

[Sled21]

(08-01-2022, 08:55 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Spent seemingly a TON of the budget on the club lounge area.  You have to have club seats to enter, and the food there is excellent as is the atmosphere. Lots of comfy seats to relax on, tons of screens so you don't miss anything.  These are the seats that always look empty because those seat holders are back in the club lounge socializing.  Not really my crowd (I won't want to miss a snap) but as a massive generalization, they aren't the die hard fans.  There are a lot of business tickets at the club lounge.  

I almost always sit in the Club seats, because I have friends who have season tickets there, so when I go I sit with them. (There is almost always tickets available close by to them.) The club is nice. We have never spent any part of the game in the back though, in fact, I like that they actually come out to your seat and take your orders. The only time I ever left my seat there was to take a leak. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(08-03-2022, 09:14 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I almost always sit in the Club seats, because I have friends who have season tickets there, so when I go I sit with them. (There is almost always tickets available close by to them.) The club is nice. We have never spent any part of the game in the back though, in fact, I like that they actually come out to your seat and take your orders. The only time I ever left my seat there was to take a leak. 

You are a rare club seat fan.  People think those great seats aren't sold, because they look so empty, especially when the game is starting, but they are occupied...just back in the club lounge.