How much would it cost to put a dome on Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium? A lot. Estimates put the cost of a dome at between $903 million and $1.05 billion.
That's according to a report from the Hamilton County administrator.
Hamilton County Commission President Alicia Reece inquired about the cost during a commission meeting several weeks ago.
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"Have we looked into a dome?" Reece asked Oct. 10. "I want it presented so everybody knows what's on the table. Did we look at a dome and the per forma of a dome — not just the cost, but 20 years from now, is that what we're going to need? With a dome, could it be an arena?"
The county reached out to construction firms for estimates on the hypothetical dome. The administration said the stadium's elliptical design does not make it ideal for adding a dome.
"Enclosing the stadium is a very expensive proposition," said Jeff Aluotto, Hamilton County administrator.
"While I think it was a good, smart move to investigate this ... absent an additional revenue source or an income stream, it would be, from a financial perspective, very challenging to enclose Paycor Stadium."
Three firms looked at the costs and feasibility of adding two types of domes: Turner, Messer and AECOM/Hunt. For an oblong-type dome, the estimated costs were $962 million (Turner), $983 million (Messer) and $1.05 billion (AECOM/Hunt). For a round-style dome, AECOM/Hunt provided an estimate of $903 million.
A dome would also increase maintenance and operating costs, though that number was not readily at hand during Tuesday's meeting, Aluotto said.
Reece said she was upset her idea for a dome was determined by the administration to not be feasible. She said she's concerned in 20 years, someone else will say a dome is needed.
"We got to make sure we not going to come back here in a couple years and say 'We got to do a dome.' Tennessee is doing it. Browns are getting ready to do it. All of our competitive sets are moving in that direction, and I don't want the NFL to come back and say 'Now we want everybody to have domes' and then all of a sudden we're scraping and scrambling," she said.
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The Bengals, according to Tom Gabelman, an attorney who represents the county in stadium negotiations, say they are most interested in making capital repairs to the existing stadium, and have placed a lower priority on new practice facilities.
The three commissioners agree they aren't interested in increasing taxes related to the stadium.
Commission Vice President Denise Driehaus said the report affirmed her belief that a dome would not be affordable.
"We got the analysis for the cost of the dome, and then also the benefit the ROI associated with that dome, which leads to the idea of whether or not we can afford to do it," Driehaus said. "From my vantage point, this is just a math equation. Can we or can we not afford all of the renovations that need to be done — and we've had many discussions about the facilities maintenance plan and the master plan — and to put a billion on top of that cost, from what I've heard, we just can't afford it."
Commissioner Stephanie Summerow-Dumas said she wants to focus on renovations and expanding services, adding the economic impact of other activities that could be held at a stadium with a dome "does not support what would we get back in order to supplement this dome."
"It comes down to dollars and cents for me. The numbers of the cost for the dome are obviously, to me, cost prohibitive," said Summerow-Dumas. "It'd be nice to have it. But for me, forget about a dome."
The county is negotiating with the Cincinnati Bengals on a new lease for Paycor Stadium. The current lease expires in 2026.
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"I don't want to be the 'can't do it group' on everything," Reece lamented. "But then when the big boys come in, we the 'can do it group,' and we only got 48 hours to get it done."
She wants to see the private sector fund a lot of the changes.
"Who should pay for it? I would like to see more private business. I like that they're stepping up. I just want to make sure that the cost then would reduce the cost on the taxpayers," said Reece.
Reece also seemed to float the idea of combining the stadium into an arena that could hold other events currently staged at the Heritage Bank Center. Another possibility, she said, would be putting the arena next to Paycor where the Bengals' current practice facilities are. That seemed to stem from recent discussions about creating a new arena.
Reece requested the administration report back on a combined arena and football stadium.
