CINCINNATI — An exciting fan experience at Paycor Stadium will return for this Sunday’s playoff game — and it will be bigger than ever.
Fans called the pre-game light show “electric” after the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Bills earlier this month.
“We really want the jungle to be alive,” said Alex Schweppe, game and event entertainment coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Schweppe doesn’t believe anything like it has been done before. He’s one of about four full-time employees in the stadium’s control room running the show.
“This is kind of the heartbeat of the building,” he said.
Everything fans see and hear during the pre-game show comes through the control room. On game day, control room staff arrives about eight hours prior to kickoff.
This week’s entertainment will be even bigger, and Schweppe says they’re tripling the pyrotechnics.
“We're competing with home fans, the people who want to just watch the game at home,” he said. “We want to provide an experience where you can't get it anywhere else.”
GOT IT! Think #Cincinnati is excited for this @Bengals game Sunday? #RuleTheJungle (via @WCPO Carew Tower camera) pic.twitter.com/X2vJVCVoY7
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) January 12, 2023
Fans at the stadium can join the light show too. When fans download the Bengals app, they can sync their phone to the show, which will allow their flashlights to flash to the beat.
Schweppe said about 20% of fans in the stadium took part during the Monday night game. He wants to double or triple that number.
Even players are taking note of the energy inside the stadium.
“That atmosphere on that Monday night game that we didn't unfortunately end up playing, that was the best atmosphere pregame I'd ever been a part of,” Joe Burrow said during a press conference.
We asked Schweppe, a Cincinnati native, what it felt like to be part of that.
"I really consider it to be a great honor to be able to come back here and work for your hometown team," he said. "Because not a lot of people get to do that."
Schweppe also said he reminds his crew to really enjoy the moment.
“Because what we do is super fun and it's just great to be a part of this entire experience,” Schweppe said.
