Back in 2000, Paycor Stadium was kind of a big deal—like, the “check out our shiny new digs” kind of moment for Cincy. Fast forward a couple decades, though, and yeah… the vibes are still there, but the place is starting to feel a little, well, lived in. The seats squeak a bit more, the tech feels a little retro, and suddenly, that vintage charm is lookin’ like it needs a serious upgrade.

Guess as much as we’re concerned about the Paycor Stadium, the officials are out there doing their best to renovate the home of Joe Burrow’s Bengals. So what’s happening in Cincy right now? Well, Hamilton County and the Bengals have requested the state for $350M to revamp Paycor Stadium. But it isn’t as simple as it sounds.

Look, the County and the Bengals officials met a day after the State announced $600 million in bonds for the Cleveland Browns to build a domed stadium. And that’s where it got pretty interesting. Because there’s a $600M budget for the Browns, but for Cincy? Nope, there’s nothing. Nada.

“My concern is the fact the state budget seems to be focusing more on the Cleveland Browns. Our lease ends before theirs,” said Hamilton County Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas. “Just wondering why is there so much focus on the Browns. It’s not due to lack of effort on our part.” But why is the partiality between the two teams?

Well, the Bengals and the County first reached out to the State officials about money to upgrade the stadium back in February this year. The kicker? According to the Ohio House Finance Chair Brian Stewart (an Ashville Republican), the County and Bengals’ commissioners didn’t come up with an actual, detailed plan until just last week.

And by the time they actually laid out the full plan, the state was already wrapping up its two-year budget—like, pencils down, time’s up. So yeah, no room left on the tab. Long story short: the Bengals asked early, no doubt. But they didn’t act fast enough with a formulated plan for the Paycor Stadium’s upgrade to get the money into the current budget. Not to mention the overall cost for the stadium’s renovation is over $800 million.

$830 million renovation plan for Joe Burrow’s Bengals’ home ground

Back in September last year, Hamilton County proposed a $1.2 billion plan to renovate the Paycor Stadium. The budget intended to transform not just the stadium facility but the riverfront around it as well. However, as per the latest reports, the commissioners have presented a new $830 million budget to state lawmakers for the improvement of Cincy’s stadium.

So what’s in the plan, you ask? Well, think bigger screen behind the north end zone (because why squint, right?), fancier suites, some fresh new seats to patch up those awkward gaps, and much smoother ways to get around—we’re talkin’ better walkways, escalators that don’t feel like a gamble, and elevators that won’t make you question life. Just a full-on facelift, basically.

Now let’s talk about why the lawmakers pared down the budget from $1.2 billion to just $830 million. You see, the Bengals offices are located within Paycor Stadium at 1 Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. The earlier plan that the officials presented back in September 2024 proposed to move the team’s offices out of Paycor Stadium and into a new indoor practice facility nearby.

However, the state lawmakers probably didn’t see any need to shift the offices. With that being said, the plan to shift offices outside of the stadium was completely left out. Hence the drop in budget. Now, what’s next, you ask? Now that the budget has been passed, Ohio Senate will review it and work on it.

To make it more interesting, the Governor Mike DeWine, proposed an idea to double the taxes on betting and use that money for stadium renovations in the future. Of course, the Ohio House isn’t on board to raise taxes. At the end of the day, there are a whole lot of things to unfold before Joe Burrow’s team’s home ground will completely renovate.