The University of Cincinnati announced Monday morning that it would play its 2014 schedule at the Cincinnati Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium.
Renovations will begin at UC's Nippert Stadium in December and construction will last 15 months, necessitating the move.
This is the second time Cincinnati has had to use a Bengals stadium; in 1990, the Bearcats played at old Riverfront Stadium when Nippert was renovated.
Cincinnati has played four games at Paul Brown Stadium, which opened in 2000. In 2002, Ohio State beat Cincinnati 23-19. In 2010, Oklahoma beat the Bearcats 31-29. Cincinnati played two games at the stadium in 2011, beating Louisville 25-16 and losing 24-21 to West Virginia.
Cincinnati's two largest home crowds came at Paul Brown Stadium, which officially seats 65,535. The Bearcats drew a crowd of 66,319 against Ohio State and 58,253 against Oklahoma.
"I was impressed with the game-day atmosphere we were able to create at PBS in 2011, and the stadium is a first-class facility," Cincinnati athletic director Whit Babcock said in a release. "While we will have some logistical issues to deal with in moving an entire season of games to Paul Brown, I know our staff has a great working relationship with the Bengals and I am confident the environment will be the next best thing to Nippert Stadium."
Cincinnati practiced at Paul Brown Stadium during spring drills, and coach Tommy Tuberville said he was impressed with the amenities and the playing surface. Cincinnati recently installed the same type of synthetic turf at Nippert that is used by the Bengals.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
