Fans who braved the bitter cold to attend Sunday’s Cincinnati Bengals game were met with an unexpected chore: wiping snow off their own seats.
Photos and videos posted online showed rows of snow-covered seating inside Paycor Stadium as temperatures hovered near 11 degrees at kickoff, with wind chills in the single digits. The National Weather Service had issued advisories warning of frostbite and hypothermia risk as fans filed into the open-air stadium.
The conditions sparked complaints from ticket holders and renewed attention on NFL policies requiring teams to clear snow and ice from stadiums.
League field specifications mandate that home teams maintain a snow-removal plan and ensure that snow and ice are cleared from the stadium bowl prior to kickoff. The images circulating online suggested those standards were not fully met in Cincinnati.
In a statement to media, the Bengals acknowledged fan concerns but said crews focused on priority areas as snowfall continued overnight.
“Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape,” the team said in one statement. “Seats are easily wiped off and ushers are equipped to help there.”
In a separate statement, the team said league officials were in contact with stadium personnel in the days leading up to the game and that crews cleared the field, sidelines, aisles and walkways. The Bengals said additional snowfall overnight resulted in “minimal accumulation” in seating areas and that staff assisted fans as needed.
Hamilton County owns Paycor Stadium, but county officials emphasized that responsibility for operations shifts to the team in the lead-up to games. Hamilton County Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas publicly criticized the situation after the game.
“I want to apologize to the Bengal fans that had to clean snow out of their own seats,” Summerow Dumas wrote on Facebook. “The Bengals have to do better. I demand it and so does the NFL.”
Beyond fan discomfort, the snowy stadium conditions have also drawn attention to the workers tasked with preparing Paycor Stadium in extreme weather.
A letter to the editor sent to CityBeat raised concerns about temporary workers hired through staffing agencies to clean and clear snow ahead of the game, alleging they were not fully compensated for extended shifts this past weekend.
Bob Lenhart, owner of Cincinnati Temporary Labor — one of the companies that supplies workers for stadium cleanup — disputed claims that workers went unpaid.
“For the real cold day, our deal was we were to be down at 6 o’clock the morning on Sunday, before the game. And you know how cold it was,” Lenhart said. “They told us they needed people for four hours and they would pay them for six. I thought that was very kind of them to do that.”
Lenhart said his company, which has operated on Cincinnati’s West Side since 1969, pays workers assigned to Paycor Stadium $13 an hour and that everyone was compensated according to what was authorized by stadium officials.
“Everyone got paid exactly what they were they were promised and what [the stadium] authorized me to pay them,” he said. “I’ve got all the paperwork in front of me, and this is what I was authorized to pay, so I did. And the people that worked longer and got extra bonus money, we made sure.”
Lenhart, who said he has been in business for 57 years, pushed back strongly on allegations of wage issues.
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t keep my word,” he said.
Still, the letter writer urged Cincinnatians to consider the conditions faced by temporary laborers at Paycor Stadium — some of whom are unhoused — rather than focusing their frustration solely on snowy seats.