Cincinnati Bengals Tickets

Who the Bengals Are

The Cincinnati Bengals play home games at Paycor Stadium, an open-air stadium on the Ohio River at the edge of downtown Cincinnati. The regular season runs from September into early January, with preseason games in August and playoff games in January when the team qualifies.

Paul Brown, the co-founder and namesake of the Cleveland Browns, received the franchise from the American Football League in 1967. The Bengals began play in 1968 and joined the NFL's American Football Conference in the 1970 merger. Brown chose orange, black and white partly as a nod to his Cleveland teams, and the striped helmets that now define the team arrived in 1981.

The Bengals have won three AFC championships and reached three Super Bowls:

• Super Bowl XVI (1981 season), a 26–21 loss to San Francisco.
• Super Bowl XXIII (1988 season), a 20–16 loss to San Francisco.
• Super Bowl LVI (2021 season), a 23–20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Their AFC North rivals are the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The Browns series, known as the Battle of Ohio, carries the founder's history; the Steelers and Ravens games tend to carry the playoff stakes.

Paycor Stadium Seating and Where to Sit

The stadium opened in 2000 as Paul Brown Stadium and took the Paycor name in August 2022. It seats 65,515, with a lower bowl that wraps the whole field and club and upper decks rising along both sidelines. The north end zone also has upper seating; the field is synthetic turf, upgraded to FieldTurf CORE in 2024.

• Lower level (100s): sections 101 through 160 encircle the field.
• Club level (200s): padded seats with access to the CareSource Club East and Western & Southern Club West lounges. The team counts 7,600 club seats.
• Upper level (300s): steep sideline decks plus the north end-zone upper sections.

Seat recommendations

• For the full field: lower-level sideline seats between the 20-yard lines, about 15 rows up or higher, where you see over the sideline crowd.
• For comfort in cold weather: the 200-level clubs. December games on the river get raw, and indoor lounge access makes a difference.
• For value: the front rows of the 300-level sideline sections. Fan reviews regularly praise rows 1–3 of the upper deck for a clean, complete view.
• For atmosphere at a lower cost: the lower end zones. Goal-line action in front of you is close, though plays at the far end are hard to judge.

Expect sun at early-season afternoon games. Fan reviews from both the lower bowl and the club level note little shade in September, so bring a hat and sunscreen for a 1 p.m. kickoff. For drinks with a view, the Who Dey Deck in the southwest corner of the 200 level is limited to guests 21 and over.

The Bengals Demand Calendar

A season brings eight or nine regular-season home games. Demand tracks the opponent, the time slot and the standings.

• Pittsburgh Steelers: usually the toughest ticket. Pittsburgh is a manageable drive, and Steelers fans often buy seats in Cincinnati, which tightens the supply of resale seats.
• Cleveland Browns: the Battle of Ohio draws both fan bases from inside the state.
• Baltimore Ravens: a division game with playoff implications most years.
• Prime-time games: night kickoffs on Thursday, Sunday or Monday raise interest and usually prices.
• Playoff games: sold on short notice once seeding is final. Cincinnati's 2021 run produced its first playoff win since the 1990 season, and home playoff demand has been strong since.

The easiest tickets are preseason games and early non-division matchups. Resale prices usually rise as a December game gains playoff meaning, and fall when a season fades, so timing your purchase to the standings is a real strategy here.

Getting to Paycor Stadium

The stadium sits on the riverfront at the foot of downtown, beside The Banks entertainment district. Parking is the main puzzle.

• Stadium lots and garages: many adjacent lots require a Bengals parking pass. The team lists surface lots that open four hours before kickoff and riverfront garages that open six hours before.
• Northern Kentucky: parking in Covington and Newport across the river is a common alternative, with a walk across one of the bridges into downtown. The team has also listed a riverboat shuttle from Covington.
• Streetcar: the free Connector streetcar links downtown and Over-the-Rhine with The Banks, running about every 12 to 15 minutes.
• Buses: the TANK Southbank Shuttle connects Northern Kentucky with downtown, and Cincinnati Metro buses serve the area.
• Rideshare: the team's drop-off and pick-up zone is on 2nd Street between Vine and Walnut.

The team posted parking updates for the 2026 season. Check the Bengals parking page for the current list of lots and pass requirements.

Tailgating and Gameday Rules

Tailgating is allowed in surface lots 1U, A, B, D, E, Hilltop, Hilltop North and Longworth Hall, which open four hours before kickoff. Open flames are prohibited in parking garages. All Bengals parking closes two hours after the game, and night-game tailgates must end by midnight. For fans without a lot pass, the team runs a pregame event at The Banks starting three hours before home games, with its Jungle Zone fan area.

As of the team's current fan guide (checked during the 2026 season), these rules apply. Confirm them before you go.

• Gates: open 90 minutes before kickoff, which is later than many NFL stadiums. Plan to be in line early.
• Clear-bag policy: clear plastic bags up to 12 by 6 by 12 inches, one-gallon clear freezer bags, or small clutches about 4.5 by 6.5 inches.
• Cashless: cards and mobile payments only.
• No re-entry except for medical emergencies.
• Smoke-free: no smoking or vaping anywhere in the stadium.

Inside, the signature moment is the "Who Dey" chant. It grew out of the 1980 season, when beer vendors and fans traded calls in the stands, and it is still the call-and-response that follows big plays.

What the Stadium Renovation Means for Fans

Hamilton County and the Bengals signed a new lease in 2025 that keeps the team at Paycor Stadium and funds a multi-year renovation. The team says the lease runs through June 2036.

• Phase one (before the 2026 season): renovated restrooms with nursing rooms, faster grab-and-go concessions on the canopy level, expanded club lounges, redesigned suites, a reworked pro shop and more than 1,000 new wayfinding signs.
• Phase two (planned for 2027): escalators, seat replacement and a new videoboard, according to the team.

The club and suite upgrades matter for buyers comparing premium seats; the planned seat replacement means the bowl may look and feel different from older photos. Construction timelines can shift, so check the team's announcements for the latest. Every GoodSeats order includes guaranteed entry.

Bengals History Worth Knowing

The Bengals played their first two seasons at Nippert Stadium, then shared Riverfront Stadium with the Cincinnati Reds from 1970 until Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2000.

• The Freezer Bowl: on January 10, 1982, Cincinnati beat San Diego 27–7 in the AFC Championship Game with a wind chill of minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The MVP quarterbacks: Ken Anderson won league MVP in 1981 and Boomer Esiason in 1988, each leading a Super Bowl team.
• Anthony Muñoz: the left tackle played for Cincinnati from 1980 to 1992 and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
• The 2021 AFC title: the Bengals came back from a 21–3 deficit to win 27–24 in overtime at Kansas City.

The team created its Ring of Honor in 2021, with Anderson in the first class. More team history is on the Bengals official site.

Sources

• Wikipedia – Cincinnati Bengals
• Wikipedia – History of the Cincinnati Bengals
• Wikipedia – Paycor Stadium
• Bengals – Fan Guide
• Bengals – Tailgating
• Bengals – Parking and Directions
• Bengals – 2026 Paycor Stadium Renovations First Look
• Stadiums of Pro Football – Paycor Stadium
• A View From My Seat – Paycor Stadium