Monday, August 30, 1999
Big ideas for the stadium
BY JOHN J. BYCZKOWSKI
and JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Preliminary design plans done by the HOK architectural firm reveal details of the new Reds ballpark. Plans might change depending on whether all these things fit the budget.
Here are some of the elements under consideration:
• The big entrance: The concrete expanse of the plaza level outside Cinergy is history. The plaza for the new stadium will be a grassy area, with some kind of tribute to the Big Red Machine of the 1970s. The main entrance to the ballpark will be something dramatic, architect Joe Spear said, without divulging details.
• The field: The wall in right field will curve as it does in Cinergy Field, but in left field it will be angled — and 328 feet from home — as it was at Crosley Field. The lower level seats on the third base side come real close to the foul lines. The Reds' bullpen is down the right field line, and the visitor's bullpen is in left center field.
• Club seats and luxury suites: These will mainly be located on the middle level of the ballpark. The suites — 39 of them — will wrap around home and run down the left-field foul line. Another 13 suites are on the main concourse between home and third. That's the only place where fans in the main concourse won't be able to see the field.
Most of the club seats are on the middle level, from near home down the right-field foul line. The concourse behind — where there will be a huge lounge area — will be open to the field. Other club seats will be located directly behind home plate on the lower level. There are other opportunities to label sections as “club seats” around the ballpark, depending on how the Reds decide to price them.
• Bleachers: If the best fans love bleachers, there will be lots of room for the best fans. There are seven sections of seats in right field, one section just left of the batter's eye (the blank area in center field that provides a backdrop so batter's can see pitches better), and then the double deck of bleachers in left.
• The upper deck: Split up into left and right halves by the Sycamore Street “picture window,” the upper deck will be just 25 rows deep, as in Camden Yards in Baltimore. And the Reds' decision to have the suites and club seats primarily on one level — rather than split them into two levels as in Safeco Field and Coors Field — means the upper deck will be closer to the playing field.
• Amenities: A stadium club restaurant will face the river at the end of the club-seat level. A year-round restaurant is set between the decks of the left-field bleachers, backing toward the Firstar Center. The main scoreboard is in left field, above the bleachers, and will block the view of the Firstar Center. A picnic area above the batter's eye in center field will have views of the field and the river. A 10,000-square-foot children's play area is planned on the west-side main concourse.
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