Great American Ball Park

Great American Ball Park
Great American Ball Park
Facility statistics
Location100 Main Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Broke groundAugust 1, 2000
OpenedMarch 31, 2003
SurfaceGrass
OwnerHamilton County
Construction cost$290 million USD
ArchitectsHOK Sport and GBBN Architects (Cincinnati)
Tenants
Cincinnati Reds2003-present
Seating capacity
200342,059
Dimensions
Left field328 ft100 m
Left center379 ft116 m
Center field404 ft123 m
Right center370 ft113 m
Right field325 ft99 m
Backstop55 ft17 m

Great American Ball Park is the home of the Cincinnati Reds, a member of Major League Baseball's National League, and is located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio on the Ohio River. The fourth home of baseball's oldest professional team, the downtown park opened on March 28, 2003 for an exhibition game with the Cleveland Indians. It hosted its first regular season game on Opening Day, March 31, 2003 as Former U.S. President George H. W. Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Reds, 10-1.

During construction, the new stadium was "wedged" into the space between multi-purpose Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium, opened 1970) and U.S. Bank Arena. Cinergy Field was demolished after the 2002 MLB season, and the ballpark is part of an almost entirely revised downtown riverfront, along with Paul Brown Stadium (home of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, opened 2000) and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (opened 2004).

Although not readily apparent, this facility bears a corporate name. The naming rights were acquired by the Great American Insurance Group.

Missing image
Great-american-ball-park.jpg
Great American Ball Park at night.

Features

  • A 35 foot (11 m) wide break in the stands between home plate and third base -- known as "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.
  • In right center field, two riverboat-inspired smoke stacks flash lights, emit smoke and launch fireworks to incite or respond to the home team's efforts.
  • The 50 by 20 foot (15 by 6 m) "Spirit of Baseball" limestone relief carving near the main entrance shows baseball figures of a boy and a man, along with the Cincinnati riverfront.
  • Mosaics depicting the 1869 Red Stockings, baseball's first pro team, and the 1975 Big Red Machine club that won the first of two consecutive World Series are just inside the main entrance.
  • Panoramas of downtown Cincinnati, Mt. Adams, the Ohio River and Northern Kentucky are visible from most of the park (see photo below).
  • At 217 feet, 9 inches (66 m) wide, the scoreboard is the third largest in the Major Leagues (after Colorado and Detroit).
  • A three-piece mural on the back of the scoreboard in left-field pictures the bat and ball from Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit.
  • The trademark radio sign-off phrase of long-time announcer Joe Nuxhall, "Rounding third and heading for home...", appears on the north side of the stadium, on the back of the third base stands.
Missing image
Gabp_from_the_gap.jpg
The view from "The Gap"

Address

Great American Ball Park
100 Main Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Statistics

Seat width: 19 inches (48 cm)
Ticket windows: 25
Concourse widths: 40 feet (12 m)
Escalators: 3
Passenger elevators: 14
Public restrooms: 47 (20 women, 20 men, seven family)
Concession stands: 28
Parking spaces: 850

Template:MLB Ballparks

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