The Cincinnati Bengals welcome the Baltimore Ravens to Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati for Week 15, and after a snowy Saturday night and early Sunday morning, the stadium was covered in snow.
Teams will typically clear off snow from the field and the stands in accordance with league rules. But pictures before the game showed that the seats at Paycor weren't cleared.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared the photo and also called out how this is an apparent violation of league policy.
Bengals apparently violate league policy with snowy seats
"The Bengals didn't remove the snow from the seats." Florio writes. "The relevant rule clearly requires them to do so."
While the penalty for violating this policy is unclear, and whether the Bengals would get penalized is also unclear, Florio pointing this out is something to monitor after the game.
Florio shared the NFL's messaging on clearing snow from the stadium seats, and the wording makes it clear that the Bengals should've cleared away the snow from the Paycor Stadium seats. The NFL's rule states:
“Each home club is responsible for having a snow removal plan in place and ensuring that its stadium has adequate snow removal equipment available. Snow and ice must be removed from the stadium before all games. This applies to the playing field, sidelines, seating bowl, aisles, pedestrian ramps, walkways, parking lots, etc. This also applies to the sidelines; snow may not be pushed into piles and remain against stadium walls so that it interferes with standard game or sideline operations.”
With the Bengals not clearing the snow from the stadium bowl, they are in apparent violation of league rules. The reaction from the NFL isn't yet known, but Florio shared comments from the Bengals organization on this incident.
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"Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape," the Bengals said when reached for comment, "Seats are easily wiped off, and ushers are equipped to help there."
The Bengals didn't clear the seats, but fans and ushers will be able to clear those seats easily before and during the game when needed.
At 4-9, the Bengals are playing for their playoff lives this week. A loss to the Ravens would eliminate Cincinnati from the playoffs, as would a Pittsburgh Steelers win on Monday Night Football.
The Bengals have a snowy stadium for Week 15 against the Ravens in a must-win matchup. Fortunately for the Bengals, the field will be clear of snow, even if the stadium seats are still covered in snow for this important Week 15 matchup.
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