The Cincinnati Bengals left for Madrid on Tuesday night, and the club’s own travel preview shows how much planning goes into a regular-season game abroad. A 201-person party boarded an American Airlines charter with 60 lay-flat seats for the eight-hour flight, and the team will have Wednesday off before practising Thursday and Friday at Spain’s national football team base, about 20 miles north-west of the city. It is the Bengals’ third international game and their first since London in 2019. They meet the Atlanta Falcons at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, November 8, at 3:30 p.m. in Madrid, which is 4:30 p.m. in Cairo.
The Bengals head for Spain from Cincinnati on Tuesday night, with a Pokémon joke in the post.
A temporary Paycor Stadium in Spain
Director of operations Jeff Brickner has planned the trip for six months, and equipment manager Adam Knollman says the work began “the day it was announced” in May. Brickner collected players’ passports in May and filed 130-page banquet orders for the hotel instead of the usual 90. Knollman is carrying an extra 2,000 pounds of just-in-case equipment on top of the 10,000 pounds the team moves for an AFC North road game, and every trunk has to be listed for customs by weight, dimensions, country of origin and contents, down to the cotton content of each shirt.
Some supplies went ahead by ocean freight and reached the practice complex, stadium and hotel two weeks ago, including 17 pallets of water and sports drink and IT gear for the meeting rooms. Trainer Roberto Cardona, a Texan who speaks fluent Spanish, is helping with translation. Chef Ory Maxwell will serve a daily dish with a Spanish touch, such as jamón.
Brickner says the Bernabéu’s grass is a Bermuda and ryegrass hybrid that sits on a hydraulic tray system and slides out from under the stadium, so he is sending each player four to six pairs of shoes in different stud lengths. Captain Ted Karras expects the retractable roof to be closed.
The trip home is the odd part
When the game ends, all of the Bengals’ equipment stays behind to speed up the flight home. It will be loaded on a truck and then onto a commercial plane to Newark, New Jersey, on Monday, and trucked to Cincinnati in time for Wednesday’s practice. “That’s going to be a weird feeling walking out of the locker room like that,” Knollman says. Brickner’s summary: “The only thing we want to come back with is a win.”
Bengals fan plans in Madrid, with Cairo times
The club has also listed its own fan stops for the week. Madrid is one hour behind Cairo, so add an hour to every Madrid time below. The league’s free NFL House and NFL Experience hours are in our Madrid fan-week story, and the other teams’ Madrid and Munich plans are in our game-week guide.
| Date | What is happening | Madrid time | Cairo time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed Nov 4 – Sun Nov 8 | Enlarged NFL helmets for photos near the Cibeles Fountain | All week | All week |
| Wed Nov 4 | Bengals day off after arriving; staff set up the practice complex | — | — |
| Thu Nov 5 | First Bengals practice at the Spanish national team facility; official NFL Shop opens at the Bernabéu (daily 10:00–20:00 through Monday) | Practice time not published; shop 10:00–20:00 | Shop 11:00–21:00 |
| Thu Nov 5 – Fri Nov 6 | Who Dey Nation drink specials at Ocean Rock Bar, the official Bengals bar | Evening | Evening |
| Fri Nov 6 | Second practice; official Bengals party at El Retiro Park near Florida Park; Bengals-themed Menina statue photo spot at the NFL Experience in Plaza de España | Party 20:00–23:00 | Party 21:00–00:00 |
| Sat Nov 7 | Who Dey Nation fan meetup with giveaways at Ocean Rock Bar; Bengals set up their locker room at the Bernabéu | Meetup 19:00–22:00 | Meetup 20:00–23:00 |
| Sun Nov 8 | Ocean Rock Bar watch party, then Bengals vs. Falcons at the Bernabéu | Watch party 13:30; kickoff 15:30 | Watch party 14:30; kickoff 16:30 |
The Meninas are Madrid’s public sculptures based on Diego Velázquez’s 1656 painting, and the Bengals-themed one is a photo stop on Friday and Saturday. Fans can register for the NFL Experience through the league’s NFL OnePass app.
The Bengals publish their guide to Madrid for Who Dey Nation.
Atlanta is on its way too
The Falcons are the home team at the Bernabéu and posted their own “Next stop: Madrid” early Wednesday. Atlanta is 3-5 after a 16-0 loss at Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati is 5-2 after a 43-36 overtime win over Tennessee. Our Week 9 schedule has the full Week 9 slate in Cairo time, and our Munich fan map covers the next European stop on November 15.
Atlanta leaves for Madrid as the home team.
Travel details are from the Bengals’ team preview published on Tuesday, November 3.
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