RIVERFRONT STADIUM

For many in baseball, Riverfront Stadium was just another cookie cutter baseball stadium. For fans in Cincinnati it was a place where they could come to see their favorite players each summer. It was the home to many great stars and some of the best teams in in baseball during the 1970s with the Big Red Machine. As early as the 1940s a new stadium for the Reds was discussed. Talks did not intensify until the 1960s when owner Bill Dewitt wanted a new stadium built in the Blue Ash area of Cincinnati. He wanted a dome stadium built here but the city wanted a new stadium built downtown along the riverfront. Crosley Field was no longer a viable option because of its age, it was locked in by Interstate 75 and was in a blighted neighborhood by the 1960s. For a time there was talk that Dewitt may move the team to San Diego. However he sold the team to local investors in 1966 ensuring that the Reds would stay in Cincinnati. After the American Football League awarded Cincinnati a football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, a new stadium on the Ohio River was built. Named after its location, groundbreaking for Riverfront Stadium occurred on February 1, 1968. From 1970 until 2000, the stadium was a circular multipurpose, cookie cutter stadium that had a capacity of 52,952 for baseball and 59,754 for football. Astroturf was chosen as the stadium surface so the field could be converted from baseball to football faster than using grass.

The stadium had four levels of seating, each color-coded from the field up: blue, green, yellow and red. The lower field box seats for baseball from home plate to the left field foul line were moved on wheels so the field could be converted to a football gridiron. The scoreboard was located above the centerfield seats in the upper deck. Fans entered the stadium on the plaza level and had to walk down ramps to get to the field (blue) level of seats. The stadium itself was originally surrounded by a large three level parking garage, which could accommodate 2,500 cars.  

The first baseball game was played at Riverfront Stadium on June 30, 1970 when the Reds battled the Atlanta Braves. Until 1995 fans attending games at Riverfront Stadium saw few changes. In 1996 the naming rights were sold to Cinergy Corporation and Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field. The Cincinnati Bengals moved out of the stadium at the end of the 1999 season. In 1998, the Reds announced that a new ballpark was going to be built next to Cinergy Field. In order for construction to begin, approximately 14,000 seats from the outfield were removed after the 2000 season. For two seasons. four tiers of seats extended from the left field foul pole to homeplate, to the right field foul pole, and around to right center field.  The bullpens were relocated behind the right field wall. With the removal of 14,000 seats the Reds installed natural grass, replacing the Astroturf. For two seasons Cinergy Field looked like an actual ballpark. Fans received excellent views of the Ohio River and the surrounding area when they went to a Reds game. Fans were also able to see Great American Ball Park rise beyond the outfield wall as it was constructed. The last game ever at Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium was on September 22, 2002. The stadium was demolished on December 29, 2002 and the site is now part of Great American Ball Park.