Legal barriers cited for no ‘watch’ party at Paul Brown Stadium for Super Bowl

CINCINNATI — UPDATE @ 4:24 p.m.:

The managing director of Paul Brown Stadium told Hamilton County’s Administrator Jeffrey Aluotto the stadium will not be able to host a “Watch” Party at the stadium for the Bengals appearance in the Super Bowl, according to a letter obtained by our partners at WCPO-TV.

“The NFL declined the request for permission to broadcast the Super Bowl at PBS, which is consistent with the NFL’s Rules and Policies applicable to similar events,” Eric Brown, the managing director at Paul Brown Stadium, wrote in a letter. “The legal and logistical barriers to holding a ‘Watch’ Party for Super Bowl LVI are too significant.”

INITIAL REPORT:

County leaders in Hamilton County are discussing for a second time about hosting a Bengals watch party, this time for the team’s appearance in the Super Bowl.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: Bengals watch party for AFC Championship game at Paul Brown Stadium will not happen

Hamilton County discussed in the days leading up to the AFC Championship game about hosting a ticketed watch party inside the stadium. However those plans fell through with leaders citing a quick turnaround time to have it organized.

>>Dayton Public joins Cincinnati Public in closing schools for day after Super Bowl

The first time around, the county wasn’t able to secure broadcast rights, didn’t have time to discuss with Bengals ownership, and didn’t have enough time to work out security and other workers at the stadium. But with Super Bowl LVI now 12 days away, county leaders are giving it another try.

>>SUPER BOWL BOUND: Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams advance to Super Bowl LVI

Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece led the charge the first time and is trying again, saying the county and city has an opportunity to turn Super Bowl Sunday into a weekend-long event.

“We’ve got an opportunity to put a package together that would include a Super Bowl type of experience right here in Cincinnati,” Reece told our news partners at WCPO-TV in Cincinnati. “People can come and book hotels and they can come for an entire weekend. They can come on Thursday and leave on Monday.

Hamilton County owns Paul Brown Stadium and Reece cited the county investing in the stadium and teams as part of her push to host the watch party, the station reports.

“We want to have something where we get a return on our investment. California, they didn’t invest in our stadium here. We go to California, we don’t get a dime out of California,” Reece said.

Reece hopes the weekend event would provide a boost to the local economy by taking advantage of fans who would otherwise watch from home because they can’t be at the game in Los Angeles, the station reports.

We’ll continue to update this story as new developments are announced.

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