CINCINNATI — It's almost time to get back into the jungle.
The Bengals 2023 season home opener against the Baltimore Ravens is just days away. As fans enter Paycor Stadium for Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff, they'll notice some major upgrades.
The Cincinnati Bengals worked on renovations to elevate the "Game-Dey" experience all off season. Some of 2023's the new additions include, new banners, graphics and murals installed throughout the stadium.
"We know when fans come to games, they want to come, they want to get high-quality food, they want to get it quickly and get back to their seats so they can watch the game," said Caroline Blackburn, the Bengals' senior manager of digital strategy. "That’s what all of our concessions renovations are about."
The Bengals added 78 new self-serve kiosks and 14 "grab-and-go" stands throughout the stadium in order to reduce lines at concessions.
In addition to traditional game day favorites, fans can now enjoy Skyline coneys. Chicken lovers will also find two additional Tender, Love and Chicken locations. There’s also a new BBQ concept called Smoke and Sizzle.
The Bengals said they also want to level up the energy in the stadium.
Seth Tanner, director of content, said fans will notice new video boards with a second level of LED screens.
"It’s going to add an extra level of light and atmosphere on game days, especially during intros and such," Tanner said.
And finally, the organization said it wants to add the personality of the team and city into the stadium.
"Now when you walk in the west side, when you come into gate A, you’ll hopefully feel this really cool jungle vibe," Caroline Blackburn said.
The Queen City Tap House will be renovated and become The Jungle Bar.
Blackburn said it was important the upgrades could be enjoyed by all fans inside the stadium.
A new addition for the Canopy Crazies on the third level of Paycor Stadium is The Perch, which will feature grab-and-go style drinks.
"It was definitely important to us to go up to the canopy, give it a little love since we’re all up there and make sure those fans also felt they were seen and heard in this process," Blackburn said.
The renovations cost around $20 million and are being fully funded by the Bengals.
These renovations come as larger conversations are happening about the future of Paycor Stadium and what it might look like. Blackburn said in the interim, they wanted to do what they could to positively impact the fan experience.
"They’re certainly not the whole picture, but they're pieces of the puzzle that we wanted to improve," said Blackburn. "Still obviously being hopeful that there will be a larger scale renovation at some point."
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