Writer: Lincoln Warstler
2 min read September 2022 — In Cincinnati, healthcare, sustainability and high-value investments go hand in hand with collegiate and professional sports teams. The major football teams in Cincinnati, the Bengals and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, have both been making headlines in 2022 for reasons other than just their performance on the field.
The Bengals are coming off of an amazing season after being led to their first Super Bowl since 1989. While fans are excited to see how they fare this season, new partnerships and initiatives have also gotten people talking. After their Super Bowl run, in February of 2022 TriHealth, a Cincinnati-based healthcare system that is one of the largest health providers in the region, decided to cut their seven-year sponsorship with the Bengals due to financial troubles brought on by the pandemic.
While this news was upsetting for the Bengals and the Cincinnati region as a whole, the downturn didn’t last long. Since then, Bengal’s management has secured a variety of new partnerships and investments.
In May of this year, the Bengals announced that Kettering Health had been selected as the new official healthcare provider of the Cincinnati Bengals. The 10-year deal also detailed the development of new projects that CEO of Kettering Health Fred Manchuer believes will help “build a healthier community.” Some of the new projects that the two organizations will work together on include incorporating clinics throughout the stadium during events, promoting NFL’s Crucial Catch “Intercept Cancer” screening initiative and running NFL flag football programs for the youth.
Recently the Bengals also announced that they would be teaming up with PureCycle Technologies, known for their ability to convert plastic waste into an ultra pure, virgin-like plastic, to increase their sustainability at home games. The plan entails the two organizations to work together in rounding up plastic waste after home games before it finds its way into the local water systems.
In August, the Bengals made a historic move for the franchise by agreeing to a naming rights deal for the stadium with Paycor, a company that provides cloud-based payroll software. This is the first naming rights agreement for the stadium, which used to be named Paul Brown Stadium after the Bengals’ founder. The finances behind the 16-year deal have not been fully disclosed, but it is projected by Sportico that the deal is worth somewhere between $8 million and $12 million annually.
The Bengals aren’t the only football team in Cincinnati that had an exceptionally strong season last year. In 2021 the University of Cincinnati (UC) Bearcats made the highly-coveted NCAA playoffs for the first time in the school’s history. For 2022, the Bearcats have sold out of their season tickets, which is the first time they have done so in history, and began planning advancements for Nippert Stadium that include field level suits, club seating and additional tailgating space.
The development at UC’s home stadium will be carried out through a partnership with REVELxp, a conglomerate of companies that specialize in enhancing the gameday experience at stadiums.
“We want as many people to experience it as possible, even if just for one game,” said Anthony Di Fino, UC’s deputy AD of external relations in an interview with The Athletic. “Local companies, birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties. Because of the location, it will be great for football enthusiasts or people who want to be down in the action.”
There is also a great deal of excitement surrounding the team’s decision to transfer from the AAC to the Big 12, a much stronger Power Five conference. The Bearcats will finish out this season in the AAC and then make their move to the Big 12 in 2023. While the specifics haven’t been mentioned, UC athletic director Jon Cunningham told FanNation in June that this conference switch will result in “more than two times what we are making in the AAC in terms of television rights.”
