Cincinnati Bengals Officially 'Exploring' Hosting NFL Draft in Near Future

The Bengals are definitely interested in bringing the NFL Draft to the Queen City. Bengals executive Katie Blackburn spoke with a group of local reporters on Monday and dove into the possibility of hosting the event in town.

Cincinnati is reportedly in the mix to get the event sometime at the end of this decade or the beginning of the 2030s

“We’ve expressed interest, as have many other cities. We are exploring it and seeing whether we can have an opportunity to do that. We would love it if we could. We would be excited about it. We’ll continue to work on it to see if it can happen," Blackburn said to The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. and more.

Defined Interest

Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Thursday, April 23, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This follows reporting in recent weeks that the city is firmly in the mix to host the event as the Bengals spearhead interest.

The league has to feel out the logistics around a city before awarding the event.

“There is a bit of an educational process we are going through with the NFL,” Blackburn noted. “They don’t know the Cincinnati market as we do. We love all the great attributes. We are trying to help get them a little bit up to speed on the vision for a good location. We think the draft would be such a great benefit and continue the story. Really, this stadium started with enhancing the riverfront and investing in the downtown.”

The Sports Business first noted the interest in April.

"Sources said, it’s possible the NFL looks to award two drafts at the same time, or in relatively short order," The Sports Business Journal reported in April. "If that happens, some sources said Cincinnati has the inside track for 2029, but there is less clarity around whether the NFL is prepared to do that now. Commissioner Roger Goodell told Pat McAfee last week 'We’re going to probably have to start allocating the drafts a little further in advance' due to the event’s size.' Nothing is final, sources cautioned, and the Minnesota selection could still change in the weeks before a vote.

"The traveling NFL Draft routinely draws hundreds of thousands of fans to a free, festival-like environment that comes at an opportune time for weather in most of the country, making it an ideal platform for civic promotion. It’s also a highly flexible event, capable of being customized to lots of stadium areas and civic footprints. Ten teams had representatives at last weekend’s draft in Pittsburgh to learn and develop their own hopes of hosting, Goodell said."

Cincinnati has a few good spots and venues to hold the big operation, including The Banks and Union Terminal Center, which could be a beautiful showcase for TV backdrops and has a massive flat plaza to house crowds.

A ton of Cincinnatians may try to top the record attendance number from the Steel City showing in April. An NFL Draft record 805,000 people attended the 2026 NFL Draft. This broke the previous record of 775,000 set by Detroit in 2024.

Hearing the draft chimes in Cincinnati could be a reality soon.

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