Opened in 2003 and the home of the NL Cincinnati Reds franchise, the Great American Ball Park is a staple for entertainment in Cincinnati, Ohio. The stadium was built to replace the Reds former field, Cinergy Field, which was also called Riverfront Stadium which was active from 1970 through 2002. The park was named after the company Great American Insurance Group that hold the naming rights. The chairman Carl Lindner, Jr. of the parent company was also the Cincinnati Reds majority owner up until early 2005 when he sold the majority interest to local entrepreneur Robert Castellini. The idea for the field came to life when in 1996, Hamilton County passed a sales tax increase to fun the creation of both the Ball Park and the new field for the NFL Cincinnati Bengals. The teams previously shared Cinergy Field but it was time to turn over a new leaf and start from the ground up to allow the teams to be more competitive in their respective leagues.
The first Major League Baseball game occurred on March 28, 2003 against upstate Ohio American League rivals, the Cleveland Indians and their first official game of the 2003 season was against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 31. During this game, former President George H. W. Bush threw out the first pitch. Iconic player Ken Griffey, Jr. had the first hit ever in the ball park when he hit a double during the March 31 game.
The Great American Ball Park has been host to some amazing events and games, most recently including the MLB Civil Rights Game in 2009 where the Chicago White Sox claimed victory over the Reds 10-8. The Reds will again host the event in 2010 and this game will take place on May 15 and they will compete against their division rival, the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Great American Ball Park boasts some great features throughout the complex. One unique feature is a 35-foot wide break in the stands between home plate and third base called "The Gap" which is then bridged by the concourse on every level. The absence of seats is aligned with Sycamore Street and offers views into the stadium from downtown Cincinnati and out to the skyline from inside the park. At a whopping 217 feet and 9 inches wide scoreboard in the stadium, the Reds boast the third largest in Major League Baseball, coming in just behind Denver's Coors Field and Detroit's Comerica Park. For the 2009 season, the Reds installed a brand new $4 million LED scoreboard and high definition video screen.
The field is also notorious for its homer-friendly nature which has led to the nickname "Great American Smallpark" and "Great American Launching Pad" which are acknowledged between both players and fans. A former manager of the Reds, Jerry Narron, has been stated saying "If you put [the ball] in the air here you've got a chance for it to go out of the ballpark." On the west side of the stadium on Main Street, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is a popular place for fans to check out where all the great players of the past are celebrated through galleries and extensive multimedia projects. Though the Hall of Fame always existed, there was never an actual building until it was built along as part of the Great American Ball Park.
