Future Expansion
As the UC program has risen to prominence in the late 2000s, the small seating capacity of Nippert has become an issue. Former UC head coach Brian Kelly called for an expansion of Nippert, the smallest stadium in the Big East. The University is currently exploring options for expansion and renovation. Sources indicate that the expansion could add between 8,000-10,000 seats, putting capacity in the 43,000 to 45,000 range. This would involve wrapping the upper deck all the way around the stadium or constructing an upper deck on the West side to mirror the upper deck on the East side, but exact details are still in the early planning stages.
In the meantime, UC has used Paul Brown Stadium, home of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, as an alternate home field for several high profile home games. The downtown stadium has a much larger seating capacity of 65,535. Bearcat games against Ohio State (2002), Oklahoma (2009), and West Virginia (2011) drew crowds of 66,000, 58,000, and 51,000, respectively, at Paul Brown Stadium.
Read more about this topic: Nippert Stadium
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