By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
A few thousand Bengals fans are expected to make the trip across the pond to cheer the Cincinnati Bengals on against the Washington Redskins at Wembley Stadium in London Sunday morning.
Herb Reisenfeld of Provident Travel (right) checks in Bengals fans as they arrive for the trip to London. Rick Speed of Villa Hills, who is making the trip with his wife, Nancy, is at left (photos by Mark Hansel).
That includes 98 from the Tri-State who booked a package through Provident Travel and left Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport Wednesday for London, by way of Atlanta, on Delta Airlines.
Rick and Nancy Speed of Villa Hills were among the group that shelled out $2,995 for the package, which includes everything but game tickets.
That wasn’t a problem for the Speeds, who are season ticket holders and Rick said the package was a great deal.
“Being able to take care of everything with just one phone call made it well worth it,” he said.
Herb Reisenfeld director of groups and incentives for Provident Travel, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AAA, said the company hoped for about 60 travelers and was thrilled when the number crept toward 100. He said they could probably had sold a few more tickets, but 98 was two busloads, so they decided to stop there.
“We put this together several months ago and the package includes five nights hotel, breakfast everywhere, a London city tour with a pub lunch, another tour to Windsor and transfers to the stadium,” Reisenfeld said. “Then we are doing an optional trip on the free day, which is the day after the game to Paris on the Chunnel train. We go in the morning and come back that night and return home the next day.”
The Speeds, who have been married for 38 years have held season tickets for about 20 years. They started at Riverfront, then took a couple of years off when the Bengals moved to Paul Brown stadium, but the lure of “the Jungle” drew them back.
They say the slow start this year has put the Bengals in must-win mode just about every week.
A steady stream of Bengals fans headed to London for Sundays game against the Washington Redskins filled the CVG concourse Wednesday afternoon.
“We like their chances and we like the early (9:30 a.m. EST – 2:30 p.m. in London) start time,” Rick Speed said. “We can leave the stadium and have a little dinner and it will still be light out.”
Cheryl Parker, Cheryl Parker, Corporate Manager, Public Affairs for AAA Greater Cincinnati, said Provident Travel does a great job booking group tours, so this was a natural fit.
“With so much interest in the Bengals and an opportunity to cheer on the team abroad, it was very exciting to be able to offer this,” Parker said. “It’s great for the fans and it’s great for the city to have this kind of opportunity and exposure.”
The Speeds will meet up with their daughter, who has been in England for about a week and the Chunnel trip is on their itinerary. Nancy has not been to Europe since high school, and is a little nervous about the Chunnel, but the couple is excited to share the experience.
“I’ve been to London a few times on business, but Nancy couldn’t go with me, so this is a chance for us to go together,” Rick Speed said. “We plan to have a few nice dinners, hit a few pubs and just enjoy ourselves.”
They expect to have a great time win or lose, but there is no doubt a victory by the guys in orange and black would make the experience much more enjoyable.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
