At the Ballpark - Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
August 28, 2005 - At The Ballpark: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati.
This one simple word epitomizes baseball tradition, beginning with the Red Legs franchise, and continuing through the days of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and the entire Big Red Machine.
Many of Cincinnati’s baseball memories were made at Riverfront Stadium (later Cinergy Field), known for being the home of many Reds greats and 140-degree temperatures on the rug at field level.
Great American Ball Park opened along the Ohio River in 2003 as Cinergy’s replacement, and while it is a beautiful facility, can it make some memories of its own? Let’s find out.
Concessions: A
If you can’t find something acceptable to eat and drink at Great American, you really aren’t looking hard enough. There is literally something for everyone here, from ice cream to cheese coneys from Skyline Chili (a local favorite). All of the stands are innovatively named, as well, with references to past executives, managers, and players. The food selection is plentiful on all levels of the park. The only complaint I might have is the prices (a big slice of pizza and a soda was about $8.50), but you would expect that in a major league facility.
Between-innings entertainment: B
The Reds offered the usual (Kiss Cam), the unusual (a computer-generated race of various Reds mascots on the scoreboard), and the hilarious (a series of baseball bloopers on the scoreboard). The musical selection between innings was also a nice mixture of 80s and 90s stuff (in particular, hearing Pixies tracks in a baseball stadium was a nice touch), but the song of the game fan vote went to William Hung’s “She Bangs”, and the inclusion of that in the ballot alone knocks this grade down a bit.
Sight lines: A+
Much like Louisville, there is really not a bad seat in the house here, and I had a perfect view of the field from the mezzanine (400) level. The seats on the third base line have a direct view not only of the field, but the Ohio River in the background, and the first base seats have a great field view and a good line to the gigantic scoreboard high atop the left field bleachers. I never had my view even remotely close to obstructed.
Promotions: A
The only promotion the Reds had on this night was the Pyromusical fireworks show, with fireworks launching over the Ohio River while scenes and music from The Natural, E.T., Pride of the Yankees and several other films played in the background. The show lasted well over 20 minutes, and was dazzling, both because of the fireworks themselves and because of the scenery.
Parking: A
For a downtown ballpark, Cincinnati really does get it right. Parking is a bit costly ($20 in the surface lots near the ballpark campus), but I was able to park in a large garage literally right across US 50 from the ballpark for $10. (Editor’s note: I returned to GABP in 2006 and parked in a garage a few blocks away for $2. Do some searching – you’ll be glad you did.) I was able to see the garage from the concourse. Traffic out of the ballpark after the game was extremely efficient, as well, as there was no real gridlock to be found.
Player accessibility: N/A
A large storm blew through the area about an hour and a half before game time, and they had a special pre-game ceremony on the field, so I was unable to see how accessible the players were, if at all.
Quality of baseball: B
The game itself was great, and seeing Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn in person was quite a sight. Both teams were tied at one going into the 8th inning, behind excellent pitching performances from Arizona’s Javier Vazquez and Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang. Arizona scored three in the 8th on a Tony Clark home run, and added two in the 9th. The Reds mounted a brief rally, but fell short as the Diamondbacks won 6-2.
Overall grade: A
To be honest, anything I didn’t really like about this ballpark is minor. Everything was a breeze, from the parking to the brief walk to the park, the quick escalator ride to the 400 level, the wide concourses, and the short concession lines. The ballpark atmosphere was wonderful, which was surprising for a non-sellout involving a home team that was 20 games out in the NL Central. I was completely impressed with every facet of my experience at Great American Ball Park, and I will certainly be making plans to return in the near future.
Cincinnati.
This one simple word epitomizes baseball tradition, beginning with the Red Legs franchise, and continuing through the days of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and the entire Big Red Machine.
Many of Cincinnati’s baseball memories were made at Riverfront Stadium (later Cinergy Field), known for being the home of many Reds greats and 140-degree temperatures on the rug at field level.
Great American Ball Park opened along the Ohio River in 2003 as Cinergy’s replacement, and while it is a beautiful facility, can it make some memories of its own? Let’s find out.
Concessions: A
If you can’t find something acceptable to eat and drink at Great American, you really aren’t looking hard enough. There is literally something for everyone here, from ice cream to cheese coneys from Skyline Chili (a local favorite). All of the stands are innovatively named, as well, with references to past executives, managers, and players. The food selection is plentiful on all levels of the park. The only complaint I might have is the prices (a big slice of pizza and a soda was about $8.50), but you would expect that in a major league facility.
Between-innings entertainment: B
The Reds offered the usual (Kiss Cam), the unusual (a computer-generated race of various Reds mascots on the scoreboard), and the hilarious (a series of baseball bloopers on the scoreboard). The musical selection between innings was also a nice mixture of 80s and 90s stuff (in particular, hearing Pixies tracks in a baseball stadium was a nice touch), but the song of the game fan vote went to William Hung’s “She Bangs”, and the inclusion of that in the ballot alone knocks this grade down a bit.
Sight lines: A+
Much like Louisville, there is really not a bad seat in the house here, and I had a perfect view of the field from the mezzanine (400) level. The seats on the third base line have a direct view not only of the field, but the Ohio River in the background, and the first base seats have a great field view and a good line to the gigantic scoreboard high atop the left field bleachers. I never had my view even remotely close to obstructed.
Promotions: A
The only promotion the Reds had on this night was the Pyromusical fireworks show, with fireworks launching over the Ohio River while scenes and music from The Natural, E.T., Pride of the Yankees and several other films played in the background. The show lasted well over 20 minutes, and was dazzling, both because of the fireworks themselves and because of the scenery.
Parking: A
For a downtown ballpark, Cincinnati really does get it right. Parking is a bit costly ($20 in the surface lots near the ballpark campus), but I was able to park in a large garage literally right across US 50 from the ballpark for $10. (Editor’s note: I returned to GABP in 2006 and parked in a garage a few blocks away for $2. Do some searching – you’ll be glad you did.) I was able to see the garage from the concourse. Traffic out of the ballpark after the game was extremely efficient, as well, as there was no real gridlock to be found.
Player accessibility: N/A
A large storm blew through the area about an hour and a half before game time, and they had a special pre-game ceremony on the field, so I was unable to see how accessible the players were, if at all.
Quality of baseball: B
The game itself was great, and seeing Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn in person was quite a sight. Both teams were tied at one going into the 8th inning, behind excellent pitching performances from Arizona’s Javier Vazquez and Cincinnati’s Aaron Harang. Arizona scored three in the 8th on a Tony Clark home run, and added two in the 9th. The Reds mounted a brief rally, but fell short as the Diamondbacks won 6-2.
Overall grade: A
To be honest, anything I didn’t really like about this ballpark is minor. Everything was a breeze, from the parking to the brief walk to the park, the quick escalator ride to the 400 level, the wide concourses, and the short concession lines. The ballpark atmosphere was wonderful, which was surprising for a non-sellout involving a home team that was 20 games out in the NL Central. I was completely impressed with every facet of my experience at Great American Ball Park, and I will certainly be making plans to return in the near future.
posted by Brian Wilmer at 10:34 AM
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