Bengals watch party at Paul Brown Stadium will not happen

CINCINNATI — UPDATE @ 6:30 p.m. (1/26):

The idea of hosting a watch party of Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals’ AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs will not happen, according to our news partners at WCPO.

Hamilton County said in a press release Wednesday that due to a short turnaround, they would not be able to properly pull off the event.

“Unfortunately, given the attendance uncertainty, time constraints, and numerous operational challenges including fan safety and staffing, the County cannot feasibly pull together all the logistics, for a PBS watch party in time for this Sunday’s game,” Bridget Doherty, Communications Manager for Hamilton County said.

INITIAL REPORT:

Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reese said she is pushing for a Cincinnati Bengals watch party at Paul Brown Stadium Sunday, when the team takes on Kansas City in the AFC Championship.

“Even though we’ll be playing the game in Kansas City, they’ll be doing all the shots in Kansas City” Reese said told our news partners at WCPO-TV. “(If) we do the watch party at Paul Brown Stadium, we got to do a shot into Paul Brown Stadium, bringing it back to Cincinnati.”

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Reese told WCPO she has asked Hamilton County Administrator Jeff Alluotto to explore whether it is possible to allow fans into the stadium to watch the game, which also airs on WHIO-TV Channel 7 at 3 p.m.

Reese, who is a long-time Bengals fan, said she believes the Bengals playing for the AFC Championship helps shine a national spotlight on the Queen City and could potentially generate more tourist dollars for the region.

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“They’ll be able to see our riverfront and say, ‘Yeah, I want to come to Cincinnati.’ Maybe we should bring our convention there. Maybe we should come there for a weekend stay,” she said.

Hamilton County Commissioners are scheduled for a staff meeting this afternoon and a regular board meeting Thursday. A Bengals watch party discussion is not currently listed on either agenda.

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