Friday, May 12, 2000
CON: Design doesn't rate a 'wow'
The Reds' new home is not a place you'd look at and say, “Wow.” It's beautiful, in a functional, Honda Civic sort of way. If it were an actress, it would be Meryl Streep.
This is what the latest drawings show. This is what the words of the architects suggest. The new place isn't precious with wrought-iron and brick, like Camden Yards. It is not, thankfully, the new Comiskey Park, sterile as the old. It is somewhere in the sensible in-between.
There will be no Ferris wheel (Comerica Park, Detroit), no giant glove above an outfield wall (Pac Bell Park, San Francisco.) It won't have a choo-choo train (Enron Field, Houston).
You will go to the new place to watch baseball (imagine that), not drool over the design. Which in Cincinnati, birthplace of pro hardball, is as it should be.
Will work for fans
John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, was dead-on when he said Thursday: “So many of our fans come to the games because they're baseball fans. (They want to) get to the concession stand, get (a) beer and watch the ballgame.”
They will be able to do that, in grand style. Just don't go expecting the Mona Lisa. Or even Jacobs Field. It ain't that. At least it doesn't appear to be. “It's a work in progress,” Mr. Allen reminded everyone Thursday.
The view is of Kentucky. The new place turns its back on downtown; home plate will face the almighty brown river, offering majestic views of Covington and Newport. Northern Kentucky, contributor of zero tax dollars to the deal, once again makes out like the bandit it is.
The architects thought highly of the suspension bridge. Too bad you won't see it unless you're sitting in the bleachers or way down the left field line. The “notch” in the stands, at the bottom of Sycamore Street, is a nice idea. But Sycamore isn't exactly the beating heart of downtown.
Quirks forgotten
I wanted a Crosley-esque terrace and a short trip to the right field foul line; the terrace is outside the park, an ornament. Right field is 325 down the line, 17 feet longer than Pac Bell Park in San Francisco.
Mr. Allen said the league frowned on the terrace, fearing injuries, and baseball rules prohibit any fences closer than 325. But Enron Field has a terrace. Comerica has a flagpole in fair ground, and the league waived the 325-foot rule for 'Frisco.
A little asymmetry would have been good. As it is, the new place is practically a geometry project. None of which will distract from the joy of the games.
The concourses will be twice as wide as the ones at Cinergy. There will be many more concession areas. Cinergy's bathrooms are medieval; the new place will offer women 50 percent more toilets, men 30 percent.
There are thoughtful touches, too: A rose garden honoring the hit king. Possibly Joe Nuxhall's signature sign-off line — “rounding third and heading for home” — adorning the brick facade of the team's offices. Mosaics like those at the airport, honoring Reds history.
But you won't have a boat dock or sweeping views of downtown. Camden Yards is an evening gown; the Reds park is khakis.
It's not a place to make you say, “Oooh.” Then again, after 30 years of Cinergy, maybe anything would make you say that.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454. Fair Game, a collection of his columns, is available at local bookstores.
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CON: Design doesn't rate a 'wow'
