Thursday, January 06, 2000

Reds park design evolving

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'We're trying to create a visitor-friendly environment'

BY DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Detailed illustration

        There will be fewer seats and more luxury boxes; better views inside and better views outside; offices and a Reds museum built along city streets. In many ways, the new Cincinnati Reds ballpark will extend open arms to the Queen City.

        At least that's the theme of the latest stadium design drawings, which are subject to tinkering or outright change between now and the time construction starts in August.

        But even if there are changes along the way, the Reds new home is beginning to take shape.

        “The idea is to have a stadium that connects with the street grid,” said Mike Schuster, an architect hired by the Reds to work with county officials in the design of the stadium.

        “That way it will connect the park to the city,” he said.

        The latest design, unveiled Wednesday at a press briefing, shows several modifications since the first preliminary design was made public in July.

        The number of luxury suites, for example, has jumped from 51 to 61, while about 2,500 seats were scrapped.

        Project Manager Dan Streyle said the designs will continue to evolve before architects break the master plan into more than 2,000 detailed blueprints this spring.

        “The orientation of the park is set, and we know there will be 90 feet from home plate to first base,” Mr. Streyle said. “Nothing else is concrete.

        “These drawings will continue to become more and more defined, and will change.”

        The main concourse will hold 18 of the luxury boxes, with the rest on the stadium's second level.

        One unique design feature left on the cutting room floor was the proposed overhanging bleachers in the upper deck of left field, which could have obstructed the view of fly balls for some spectators.

        And the dimensions of the playing field will help a lot of those fly balls land in the hands of fans.

        There will be relatively little foul territory in the new stadium, with only about 10 feet of foul ground down the right and left field lines and 50 feet behind home plate.

        The right field fence will be 325 feet with the left field line only 3 feet farther from the plate. Center field will be 404 feet from home plate.

        The height of the outfield fence hasn't been settled, but Mr. Streyle said it will likely be about 10 feet.

        “There won't be any "Red Monster' in right field,” he said, referring to the 37-foot-high outfield wall at Fenway Park in Boston, dubbed the “Green Monster.”

        People on the outside will get glimpses inside the park, whether there's a game being played or not.

        The main plaza behind home plate will be about 25 feet higher than the playing field and give fans a view inside. There also will be “notches” in the upper deck behind home plate and in left field that will give people outside the stadium a limited view inside.

        “This park will have more open areas than most,” Mr. Schuster said. “There will be a lot of views, both in and out of the stadium.”

        Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, who championed new stadiums for the Reds and Bengals, applauded that idea. He said both stadiums should be as unique as the city.

        “We're trying to create a visitor-friendly environment,” Mr. Bedinghaus said. “The idea that you can walk through downtown and get a glimpse of what the park looks like is an important design feature.”

        And there will be at least one other change to the blueprints before August: the title on the blueprints Wednesday read “Cinncinnati Reds Ballpark.”

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