Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati, Camden: homes, to live, restaurants)

[iowahawk1]

I'm a huge baseball fan who used to follow the Reds when I lived in Indiana. I now live in Iowa and have never been to the new ballpark. I've seen numerous pictures and videos of the place. Is it as beautiful in person as it seems in pics and videos? Thanks!! I'm hoping to come out this summer.

[Cleveland_Collector]

It's nice. If you're a baseball fan and have the urge, you should definitely go see it and take in a game.

[23145tp]

Great ball park, you need to see it, balls fly out of that place.....bad for ERA, great for batting avg....

[t45209]

Hate to be negative, but GAPB is in my opinion, a lackluster ballpark compared to many others in the league. When you've traveled around to the other ballparks, you can really see where Cincinnati cut corners and accepted a design which was created so as to neither offend nor please. It lacks any clear vision or consistency...sort of a bunch of random elements thrown together in a desperate attempt to be unique. It was panned by architectural critics at the time it was completed as a squandered opportunity.

The Reds were so hell bent on a riverfront location, that I believe the added engineering and logistical expense of building one stadium inside another that was being used, forced them to compromise the design of the finished product. What we have in Cincinnati is a several hundred million dollar replacement for basically what we already had...a riverfront stadium cut off from downtown, but with easy access to the highways so the suburbanites can get in and out as quickly as possible. The siting of Cincinnati's ballpark was quite controversial, and while architects, engineers, and urban planners UNIVERSALLY agreed that another location would be better, the Reds insisted on going back to the riverfront.

If you visit here, do not expect to find a Camden Yards, PNC Park, Safeco Field, San Diego or San Francisco (I give up trying to keep track of the corporate names as they change). GAPB is a cartoon compared to these classic baseball designs. What stunned me, is that many features of GABP were copied into the National's park in DC, such as the inexplicable "notch" in the upper deck. It made me feel like our park here in Cincinnati was even more of a "canned" design than I already did.

What GABP has that no other park can offer is a magnificent Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, so make sure you do that while you're here. The food is also much better than average. Most of all, the Reds' marketing department does a better job than just about any other club in the majors of enhancing the fan experience with promos and special events. 22 major league clubs were in Cincinnati earlier this month to study the Reds' success with RedsFest...that says something about how this franchise is run.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by t45209

Hate to be negative, but GAPB is in my opinion, a lackluster ballpark compared to many others in the league. When you've traveled around to the other ballparks, you can really see where Cincinnati cut corners and accepted a design which was created so as to neither offend nor please. It lacks any clear vision or consistency...sort of a bunch of random elements thrown together in a desperate attempt to be unique. It was panned by architectural critics at the time it was completed as a squandered opportunity.

The Reds were so hell bent on a riverfront location, that I believe the added engineering and logistical expense of building one stadium inside another that was being used, forced them to compromise the design of the finished product. What we have in Cincinnati is a several hundred million dollar replacement for basically what we already had...a riverfront stadium cut off from downtown, but with easy access to the highways so the suburbanites can get in and out as quickly as possible. The siting of Cincinnati's ballpark was quite controversial, and while architects, engineers, and urban planners UNIVERSALLY agreed that another location would be better, the Reds insisted on going back to the riverfront.

If you visit here, do not expect to find a Camden Yards, PNC Park, Safeco Field, San Diego or San Francisco (I give up trying to keep track of the corporate names as they change). GAPB is a cartoon compared to these classic baseball designs. What stunned me, is that many features of GABP were copied into the National's park in DC, such as the inexplicable "notch" in the upper deck. It made me feel like our park here in Cincinnati was even more of a "canned" design than I already did.

What GABP has that no other park can offer is a magnificent Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, so make sure you do that while you're here. The food is also much better than average. Most of all, the Reds' marketing department does a better job than just about any other club in the majors of enhancing the fan experience with promos and special events. 22 major league clubs were in Cincinnati earlier this month to study the Reds' success with RedsFest...that says something about how this franchise is run.

PNC Park is surrounded by parking and a jumble of freeways, and easily gets all of its visitors back on the parkway so they can get back to their nice homes in the suburbs.

[Traveler87]

GABP is really nice! Seriously consider checking out the Reds Hall of Fame. With the new Banks project happening right across the street, you will have plenty of restaurants to eat at, and check out the new Cincinnati Riverfront Park or the finished parts of it.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

PNC Park is surrounded by parking and a jumble of freeways, and easily gets all of its visitors back on the parkway so they can get back to their nice homes in the suburbs.

But PNC itself is very nice, maybe the best in baseball, and has great views of downtown and the bridges. They really sited the ballpark perfectly from that standpoint. In Cincinnati, you can't see much out of GABP if you aren't sitting in the nosebleeds. It's open sky, and what you can see is nothing terribly spectacular...a muddy river, if you're high enough.

Few (new) ballparks combine great siting with great design. Camden Yards, San Francisco, San Diego are the best. Safeco is a great ballpark, has beautiful views and is one of my faves, but it's bit separated from downtown. Coors Field in Denver, on the other hand, has a great downtown location, but the ballpark itself really isn't anything special. St Louis' new Busch is disappointing on both fronts. To me, that ballpark feels closed in and is a bit uninviting. There are many places where you can't see the field from the concourses, and downtown St Louis has nothing going on.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by t45209

But PNC itself is very nice, maybe the best in baseball, and has great views of downtown and the bridges. They really sited the ballpark perfectly from that standpoint. In Cincinnati, you can't see much out of GABP if you aren't sitting in the nosebleeds. It's open sky, and what you can see is nothing terribly spectacular...a muddy river, if you're high enough.

Few (new) ballparks combine great siting with great design. Camden Yards, San Francisco, San Diego are the best. Safeco is a great ballpark, has beautiful views and is one of my faves, but it's bit separated from downtown. Coors Field in Denver, on the other hand, has a great downtown location, but the ballpark itself really isn't anything special. St Louis' new Busch is disappointing on both fronts. To me, that ballpark feels closed in and is a bit uninviting. There are many places where you can't see the field from the concourses, and downtown St Louis has nothing going on.

I never said anything about PNC Park itself. I mentioned the same problems you mentioned with GABP exist at PNC Park.

I think Busch in St. Louis is extremely overrated. Doesn't help that downtown St. Louis lacks a lot.

LOL and didn't even realize you said the same thing about downtown St. Louis as myself. I was there on business last week before heading back home to Indiana for the holidays. St. Louis really needs to do something to its downtown and that war zone they call the Northside.

[t45209]

Originally Posted by Traveler87

I never said anything about PNC Park itself. I mentioned the same problems you mentioned with GABP exist at PNC Park.

I think Busch in St. Louis is extremely overrated. Doesn't help that downtown St. Louis lacks a lot.

LOL and didn't even realize you said the same thing about downtown St. Louis as myself. I was there on business last week before heading back home to Indiana for the holidays. St. Louis really needs to do something to its downtown and that war zone they call the Northside.

The only shortcoming is the fact that PNC sits off by itself. I'm not sure if it's a benefit that it sits near the expressways. I've never been there when there is a big crowd, but if that experience is anything like the nightmare of getting out of nearby Heinz Field, then forget it. Being next to highways does nothing to alleviate the gridlock of Heinz. I've never seen anything like it...over an hour of sitting in traffic. They also park you so tightly into some of those surface lots that it is literally impossible to get out until the people around you leave. You need to pretty much figure on a post-game tailgate, because you are going nowhere!

It's shame about St. Louis. The first time I was there I was shocked. I thought it would be a lot more vibrant. Heck, even the bowling museum is sitting there empty!

[kjbrill]

OK, t45209 and Traveler87... Do you know just where you are coming from?

I thought the main purpose of a Ball Park was to get people to come there and enjoy the game so they would come back. So please explain to us how GABP fails to do this. Everyone I know says GABP is a great place to experience a game, just the whole ambience which the Reds have created. So again, please explain to us how it has failed to live up to expectations.