Heartland of Baseball Tour 2003
August 3, 2003
After taking a brief break from baseball for some family visits, we "returned to action" in Cincinnati. We opted to stay downtown, as we were just there for the weekend and were able to get a good rate on the hotel. We walked around town and saw the well-known fountain square. They had an interesting collection of baseball sculptures made from baseball bats on display in honor of the new ballpark's inaugural season. We also walked down to the Great American Ball Park to take a look around. It looks OK from the outside, but there is still a lot of construction going on around it, so the exterior still feels a bit unfinished.
At night we went to the game, which was switched from the usual Sunday afternoon time to a night game to accommodate national television coverage. The game itself was a bit of a dud. The Giants scored six in the third, chasing the Reds' starter Jimmy Haynes, and there wasn't much suspense after that. The Giants went on to win 7-3. The only home run was by Jason LaRue, who hit a solo shot for the Reds in the 6th.
My impressions of the new ballpark:
- I was impressed with the view from our seats on the third base side, terrace level. Nice view of the river, and good sight lines for the action on the field.
- The park has an interesting layout, with different levels of seating on the first and third base sides.
- The park has a nice river theme to it, with riverboat smokestacks in right-center and a big scoreboard in left field. The concourse on the third base side was spacious, if a bit uninspired.
- On the minus side, I didn't care much for the way the Reds handled promotions and between-innings entertainment. There was too much kitsch and minor-league type stuff for my taste. Also, the Reds fans were surprisingly unsophisticated, cheering wildly when a Reds batter would lift a routine fly ball to the outfield.
- Overall, I really liked the park, although the outside is a bit too much concrete and not enough distinctiveness. The surrounding area is still very much "under construction" and the exterior may look better once that is complete. It will be interesting to see what they do with it over the next few years.
The Reds do a good job of emphasizing team history around the ballpark, though not quite as good as in St. Louis. We were there on Reds Hall of Fame induction day, which was a nice bonus. George Foster and Dummy Hoy were inducted into the Hall.
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The Great American Ball Park uses its riverfront setting to great advantage, providing a nice view of the river and with these riverboat smokestacks in right-center adding to the ambiance. |