Riverfront
Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio
Home of the Cincinnati Reds
1970-2000.
After three decades of existence, Riverfront Stadium, home of the Big Red Machine, is now only a memory. A new stadium for the Cincinnati Reds was first discussed in 1948, but it was 20 years before ground was broken for a new stadium. After the American Football League awarded Cincinnati a football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, a new stadium on the Ohio riverfront was built. On February 1, 1968, groundbreaking took place for the stadium. The stadium was named after it location, Riverfront Stadium. 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.
In December of 1966, Reds owner Bill DeWitt sold his interest in the ball club to a group of businessmen headed by Francis L. Dale - the publisher of the Cincinnati Enquirer. This change of ownership got the ball rolling on a new stadium. The new owners purchased the club with the understanding that the city would not only build a new ball park, but the group of investors would also sign a 40-year lease to play there once it was built.
In
May of that year, the American Football League granted the city of Cincinnati
and Paul Brown a franchise. Brown would join the Reds as a 40-year tenant of the
stadium and, consequently, construction of the new stadium would begin in
February of 1968.
Riverfront Stadium was completed in June of 1970 at an approximate cost of $45 million. The new park covered more than 48 acres of real estate, and could seat more than 52,000 fans.
The success of the Reds during the 1970s combined to create some startling attendance figures. The Reds topped the one million mark in season attendance only four times at Crosley Field, yet at Riverfront, the club has never failed to draw one million. In fact, the Reds drew more than two million fans for eight consecutive seasons from 1973 through 1980.
In September of 1996, Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field. Also that season, Hamilton County Ohio voters approved a tax increase to build two new stadiums, Paul Brown Stadium and The Great American Ball Park, on the city's riverfront. The Bengals moved west to football-only Paul Brown Stadium in August 2000.
Great American Ballpark was built on a site that overlapped the existing stadium, so it was partially demolished after the 2000 baseball season. Riverfront Stadium was renamed "Cinergy Field" in 1996 by the local utilities monopoly, which had formerly monopolized just fine under its original moniker "Cincinnati Gas & Electric" or more often "C.G.&E.". Every real Cincinnati sports fan still called it "Riverfront" or just "The Stadium".
Riverfront Stadium was the first ballpark to have an artificial turf covered infield with only sliding pits around the bases.
The first baseball game was played at Riverfront Stadium on June 30, 1970, when the Reds battled the Atlanta Braves. Until 1995, Riverfront Stadium underwent few changes. In 1996 the naming rights were sold to Cinergy Corporation. Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field. The Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL 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 to 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 Ballpark rise beyond the outfield wall. The last game ever at Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium was on September 22, 2002.
Though real grass was used for the last two years at the ball park, the Reds bullpen was still covered with artificial turf.
The stadium was demolished on December 29, 2002 and the site is part of Reds new home, the Great American Ball Park. Riverfront is taken down (left) while Great American (right) stands ready next door for the new season.
Reds Memorable
Moments:
·
Dec. 31,
2002: Cinergy
Field comes down in a cloud of dust at 8 a.m. More than 25,000 spectators
flooded into downtown Cincinnati to witness the event. In just 37 seconds,
Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field was reduced to a pile of
rubble.
Fun
Facts:
Retired numbers from some of
the greats in Reds history are honored on a supporting wall behind the left
field fence. From top to bottom they are: