All Star Game (Cincinnati, Washington: city hall, hotels, lawyer)

[WILWRadio]

No doubt most of the people that post in this forum know the MLB All Star game will be played in Cincy next Tuesday.

How are the preparations coming along? Are the streets clean? Entertainment facilities decking out to attract new visitors?

[Chemistry_Guy]

I will be at the game with my mother-in-law. Originally my wife was going to go but she doesn't feel up to it due to her pregnancy, although she is going to the home run derby. I feel kinda like a tourist in my hometown ballpark, though, because I haven't been to a regular season game in over a year, even though I have field level tickets available every game. In all honesty I am only going for my MIL's benefit.

As far as preparations go, one of my lawyer friends who works in city hall says that things are mostly ready, but that there is quite a bit of anxiety among city council and staff. There will be new traffic patterns, parking regulations, and even temporary legal statutes that could potentially cause some problems. An 18 wheeler tipping over by Lytle tunnel, for example, would be a headache of epic proportions.

[WILWRadio]

I've heard some people express concern over the recent violence (shootings) in OTR and downtown and how it could impact the game or at least people visiting downtown in the days prior to the game. You have to wonder if it will curb the number of visitors going to the downtown area for planned events prior to the game?

[flashes1]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

I've heard some people express concern over the recent violence (shootings) in OTR and downtown and how it could impact the game or at least people visiting downtown in the days prior to the game. You have to wonder if it will curb the number of visitors going to the downtown area for planned events prior to the game?

Unless there's a free hip-hop concert scheduled for Fountain Square, there won't be any problems.

[gregbe]

I'm still trying to get a ticket. My goodness they are expensive. Thankfully my wife has no desire to go so I only need to buy one. I went to both the 1970 & 1988 so I really need to go to this one.

[cincydave8]

It should be a great time. They're closing off Freedom Way for a block party and adding a zip line. Riverfont park is open with tons of neat things to check out. Hopefully people have booked rooms. All the downtown hotels are booked. The Courtyard in Rookwood usually runs $160 is up to nearly $400 now. I'd also recommend going to Washington Park this Saturday for a special City Flea. Great deals and all kind of cool items.

Safety should not be a problem at all. It's going to be like Opening Day, Oktoberfest, Taste of Cincinnati, Bockfest, Gay Pride and the hundreds of other major of events that go on in Downtown and OTR without a problem. Just use common sense and you'll be fine.

[WILWRadio]

I heard that MLB is going to start auctioning off the rights to host the All Star game in the future. This probably means only the biggest cities that have the deepest pockets will have the game from this point forward. At least Cincy gets it one more time to help showcase the positive attributes of the city.

[flashes1]

NBC Sports yesterday built what appears to be a tent for bumper cars on Fountain Square.

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by flashes1

Unless there's a free hip-hop concert scheduled for Fountain Square, there won't be any problems.

Might be a good idea to blast country music from every street corner.

[Ohiogirl81]

Nothing says Great American Pastime like a zipline ...