Today we visit the city of Cincinnati and their gorgeous Great American Ball Park!

(Turn Captions on for in video history.)

History:

Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is the home field of Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. It opened in 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), their home field from 1970 to 2002. The park's name comes from Great American Insurance Group.

In 1996, Hamilton County voters passed a ½% sales tax increase to fund the construction of new venues for both the Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). According to the lease agreement, The Reds owed $2.5 Million in rent annually for years 1–9 to Hamilton County, and owe $1 annually for years 10-35 of the contract. The Reds and the Bengals had previously shared occupancy of Cinergy Field, but by the mid-1990s, they complained that the multi-purpose stadium lacked amenities necessary for small-market professional sports teams to compete and each lobbied for venues of their own. Nearby Paul Brown Stadium broke ground in 1998 and was opened on August 19, 2000.

Great American Ball Park was built by the architectural firms HOK Sport (now Populous) and GBBN at a cost of approximately US$290 million. It is located on the plot of land between the former site of Cinergy Field (currently, The Banks) and Heritage Bank Center (previously, U.S. Bank Arena, previously Riverfront Coliseum). The limited construction space necessitated the partial demolition of Cinergy Field. It was fully demolished on December 29, 2002.

The original address of Great American Ball Park was 100 Main Street. However, after the death of former pitcher and longtime broadcaster Joe Nuxhall in 2007, the address was changed to 100 Joe Nuxhall Way. A sign bearing Nuxhall's traditional signoff phrase "rounding third and heading for home" is located on the third-base side exterior of the park. The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is adjacent to Great American Ball Park. In honor of Crosley Field, the Cincinnati Reds' home park from 1912 to June 1970, a monument reminiscent of the park's infamous left-field terrace was built on the main entrance plaza on Joe Nuxhall Way; statues of Crosley-era stars Nuxhall, catcher Ernie Lombardi, first baseman Ted Kluszewski, and outfielder Frank Robinson are depicted playing an imaginary baseball game.

Some unique design elements to the park are as follows:

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.

The centerfield "smokestacks"
In right-center field, two smokestacks, reminiscent of the steamboats that were common on the Ohio River in the 19th and early 20th centuries, flashlights, 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 seven baseball bats featured on both smokestacks symbolize the #14 of Pete Rose. On May 15, 2015, a part of the top of the right smokestack caught on fire during the 6th inning of a Reds game, caused by a loose propane valve, causing smoke to be blown across the field, several sections of seats to be evacuated, and the Cincinnati Fire Department being called to put it out. No one was injured.

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.

Riverboat Deck.
A private party area located above the batter's eye.

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.

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 the ball landed around this area in Riverfront Stadium. The garden is visible from a stairwell in the hall of fame displaying the number of balls that Rose hit.

Thank you for watching and please remember to Like, Subscribe, & Comment on where to head to next!

свернуть