Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). It opened in 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), which had been their home field from June 1970 to 2002.
Features of Great American Ball Park
The Gap. A 35-foot-(10.7-m)-wide break in the stands between home plate and third base called "The Gap" is bridged by the concourse on each level (see photo). Aligned with Sycamore Street, it provides views into the stadium from downtown and out to the skyline from within the park.
Power Stacks. In right center field, two smokestacks, reminiscent of the steamboats that were common on the Ohio River in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, flash lights, emit flames and launch fireworks to incite or respond to the home team's efforts. When the Reds strike out a batter, fire blows out of the stacks beginning with the 2012 season (previously, steam was spewed out following a strikeout). Fireworks are launched from the stacks after every Reds home run and win. The 7 baseball bats featured on both smokestacks are meant to symbolize Pete Rose, who wore number 14, since Major League Baseball has restricted his number from being displayed along with other Cincinnati greats.
The Spirit of Baseball. A 50-foot-by-20-foot (15 x 6 m) Indiana limestone bas relief carving near the main entrance features a young baseball player looking up to the heroic figures of a batter, pitcher and fielder, all set against the background of many of Cincinnati's landmarks, including the riverfront and Union Terminal. Local designers and artist created the piece between 2001 and 2003 with concept, design and project oversight / management by Berberich Design. The illustrative artist was Mark Riedy, the sculptors of the scale model used for fabrication where Todd Myers and Paul Brooke with fabrication by Mees Distributors.
The Mosaics. Just inside the main gates off the Crosley Terrace you will find two mosaic panels measuring 16 feet wide by 10 feet high. The mosaics depict two key eras in Reds history: “The First Nine”, the 1869 Red Stockings who were the first professional baseball team in history with a record of 57 and 0 in their first season and “The Great Eight”, the infamous Big Red Machine that won back-to-back World Series in 1975 and 1976. The mosaics were created between 2001 and 2003 with concept, design and project oversight / management by Berberich Design. The illustrative artist was Mark Riedy. These mosaic panels are made of opaque glass tiles and were produced in Ravenna, Italy.
The Panoramas. Panoramas of downtown Cincinnati, Mt. Adams, the Ohio River and Northern Kentucky are visible from most of the park.
The Scoreboard. At 217 feet, 9 inches (66.4 m) wide, the scoreboard from Daktronics is the sixth largest in Major League Baseball, and the 15th largest in the United States out of all LED screens. The Reds paid $4 million to install a new, LED scoreboard and high definition video screen in time for the 2009 season. The scoreboard did not add any size from the previous, just added HD quality. The scoreboard clock was originally a replica of the Longines clock at Crosley Field, but has since been modified.
Crosley Terrace. As a nod to Crosley Field, the Reds' home from 1912–1970, a monument was created in front of the main entrance to highlight the park's famous left-field terrace. Bronze statues of Crosley-era stars Joe Nuxhall, Ernie Lombardi, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson (created by sculptor Tom Tsuchiya) are depicted playing in an imaginary ballgame. The grass area of the terrace has the same slope as the outfield terrace at Crosley Field.
4192 Mural. A three-piece mural on the back of the scoreboard in left field depicts the bat Pete Rose used for his record-breaking 4,192nd hit and the ball he hit in 1985
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. Located on the west side of Great American Ball Park on Main Street, the Hall of Fame and Museum celebrate the Reds' past through galleries and extensive use of multimedia. The Hall of Fame has been in existence since 1958, but did not previously have a building.
Center Field. The dimension of 404 feet (123 m) in center field is a tribute to the same center field dimension in the Reds' previous home, Riverfront Stadium.
Riverfront Club A glass encased restaurant on the third level of the stadium that serves upscale food and has views of the field and the river.
Rose Garden Adjacent to both the stadium and the Reds Hall of Fame is a Rose garden that symbolizes Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit. It was strategically placed here because it was in around this area where the garden is, is where in Riverfront stadium that the ball landed. This garden is visible from a stairwell in the hall of fame displaying the amount of balls that Rose hit.
Baseball Stadium History in Cincinnati
Union Cricket Club Grounds a.k.a. Union Grounds or Union Park
Occupants: Cincinnati Red Stockings independent professional (1869-1870)
Location: adjacent to Lincoln Park
Currently: railroad station
Avenue Grounds
Occupants: Cincinnati Reds - National League (1876-1879)
Location: about two short blocks west of Spring Grove Avenue, bounded on the south by Alabama Avenue, on the west by Mill Creek, on the north by the imaginary line extending from Monmouth Street, and on the immediate east by railroad tracks
Currently: Hilshire Farms and Kahn's
Bank Street Grounds
Occupants:
Cincinnati Reds - NL (1880)
Cincinnati Reds - American Association (1882-1883)
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds - Union Association (1884)
Location: Bank Street and McLaren Avenue
Currently: SORTA and CSX Transportation
Crosley Field prev. Redland Field, Palace of the Fans, League Park
Occupants:
Cincinnati Reds - American Association (1884-1889) / National League (1890-1970-mid)
Cincinnati Cubans / Cuban Stars Negro National League (1921)
Cincinnati Tigers Negro American League (1937)
Cincinnati Buckeyes/Clowns Negro American League (1942-1945)
Location: Findlay Street (south); Western Avenue (northeast, angling); York Street (north); McLean Avenue (west)
Currently: industrial park
Riverfront Stadium a.k.a. Cinergy Field
Occupant: Cincinnati Reds - NL (1970-mid - 2002)
Location: 201 East Pete Rose Way
Currently: vacant lot
Great American Ball Park
Occupant: Cincinnati Reds - NL (2000-present)
Location: 100 Joe Nuxhall Way
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