Paul Brown Stadium

Paul Brown Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home venue of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and opened on August 19, 2000. Named after the Bengals' founder Paul Brown, the stadium is located on approximately 22 acre of land and has a listed seating capacity of 65,515. Paul Brown Stadium is nicknamed "The Jungle," an allusion to not only the namesake Bengal tiger's natural habitat but also the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle".

History
In 1996 Hamilton County voters passed a one-half percent sales tax increase to fund the building of two new home venues for both the Bengals and the Major League Baseball Cincinnati Reds. Previously the Bengals and the Reds shared tenancy of Riverfront Stadium (Cinergy Field), but both teams complained that the aging multipurpose facility lacked modern amenities and other things necessary for small-market teams to survive. Paul Brown Stadium was built first to the west; after the Bengals moved, Cinergy Field installed natural grass and was partially demolished to allow construction of adjacent Great American Ball Park to the east. Following the 2002 baseball season, Cinergy was demolished on December 29. The Bengals have hosted four NFL playoff games at Paul Brown Stadium, with no victories.

For its first four years the field was natural Kentucky Bluegrass, but maintenance problems arose, and at one point it was rated as the third-worst field in the league. Hamilton County explored other options and chose the synthetic FieldTurf system. The infilled artificial turf looks and feels like real grass and, since the field markings are sewn into the fabric, repainting between games is unnecessary. The reduced maintenance saved the county approximately US$100,000 annually. Additionally, it opens Paul Brown Stadium to other uses without worry of damage to the turf. The FieldTurf was installed for the 2004 season. The field is one of only two stadiums in the NFL to have "five miles of piping" running under the field to keep the rubber inlays heated. In April 2012, the stadium chose to update the playing surface with an installation of Act Global synthetic turf. In 2018, the stadium was equipped with a new top-of-the-line synthetic turf system. Manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf, the product includes Strenexe XD slit-film fibers that are supported by the strongest synthetic turf backing in the industry, UltraLoc. Two LED video displays at either end zone, installed in 2000, provide a good view of the on-field action for every spectator. Over 200 feet of ribbon display were installed along the fascia of the stadium.

College football
The Cincinnati Bearcats from the University of Cincinnati and the Ohio State Buckeyes from The Ohio State University played the first college football game at Paul Brown Stadium on September 21, 2002, before a sold-out crowd of 66,319. On September 5, 2009, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Miami Redhawks played their opening games there. The University of Cincinnati also played Oklahoma in 2010 at Paul Brown Stadium. The Sooners won the game 31-29 with 58,253 fans in attendance. In 2011 the Bearcats played Big East Conference opponents Louisville Cardinals and West Virginia Mountaineers at the Stadium. The Bearcats returned to Paul Brown Stadium for the 2014 football season due to the renovations of Nippert Stadium, with the largest attendance being Miami (OH) at 41,926. The average attendance was 28,840 for the year. On September 8, 2018, Miami (OH) hosted the Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium for their annual Victory Bell rivalry, which will also feature games at PBS in 2022 and 2026.

Concerts
The Cincinnati Music Festival (formerly the Cincinnati Jazz Festival) is held there every year.

Other events
Unusual for a venue the size of Paul Brown Stadium, in the spring it hosts the annual Queen City Classic Chess Tournament.

Features
Paul Brown Stadium also houses the Bengals' administrative offices and training and practice facilities. The game field in Paul Brown Stadium is Momentum Pro manufactured by Show Sports Turf. There are three smaller practice fields nearby. Two are sodded with natural grass while the third is equipped with AstroTurf.

Several local busing companies offer round trip transportation to Paul Brown Stadium from designated locations throughout the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. One such example is the Cincinnati Metro's Jungle-to-Jungle Express, which originates at Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, a suburb of Cincinnati.

Premium seating options are available in 114 private suites and 7,600 club seats. Amenities include in-seat food and beverage service and access to the club lounges for fine dining options.

On-site retail merchandise sales are available in the Bengals pro shop, located on the plaza level on the north end of the stadium. There are 56 concession stands and eight stores.

Architecture
The stadium was designed by architectural firm NBBJ. The architect was Dan Meis. It was the first NFL facility to win an AIA design award, and one of only two sports venues to be honored. The open corners allow for views into the stadium, while stadium fans can view the downtown skyline and bridges crossing the Ohio River.

Paul Brown Stadium is the only football stadium to make a list of "America's favorite 150 buildings and structures", according to a Harris Interactive survey. Paul Brown Stadium ranked 101st on the list, whose range included all manner of major structures — skyscrapers, museums, churches, hotels, bridges, national memorials and more. No other football stadium was voted among the top 150, and among all sports venues, only Wrigley Field (31) and Yankee Stadium (84) ranked higher than Paul Brown Stadium.

Logo
The stadium's logo was designed by John Winger, then student of Graphic Design at the University of Cincinnati. The design was selected as the winner of a branding contest held by the Cincinnati Bengals organization.