By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

32 years of Cincinnati history came crashing down in 37 seconds. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

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More than 32 years of Cincinnati history came crashing down in 37 seconds right on schedule this morning, as Cinergy Field was surrounded by a ring of fire and then fell upon itself like a crumbling sand castle.

Gone were the signature white steel girders and concrete bleachers, the red seats that signified mammoth home runs, and the left-field wall that once held the retired jerseys of such greats as Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson.

"It rounded third and headed headlong into home," said long-time Reds announcer and Hall of Fame pitcher Joe Nuxhall.

All that was left was a 45-foot-high pile of rubble, a mushrooming cloud of dust that soon dissipated, the flashes from thousands of cameras on both sides of the Ohio River, and a huge hole where the stadium once stood.

For some, Sunday's implosion also left a hole in their hearts.

"I'm stunned," said Hamilton County Commissioner Tom Neyer, one of thousands of spectators to descend to the site. "My heart was racing more than it has since I was 8 years old and I sat in that place and watched Johnny Bench hit a home run out of there. It was just astounding."

Initially, it appeared that the implosion went off without incident. Much care had been taken by the demolition crews to ensure the safety of nearby structures, especially the Great American Ball Park - which will become the new home of the Cincinnati Reds come March - and the under-construction National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation immediately began inspecting adjacent roadways and streets, checking for damage. Fort Washington Way, for example, had been closed since 7 a.m., and other streets had been closed prior to that.

Cincinnati police spokesman Lt. Kurt Byrd said that all streets and highways would be reopened following the all-clear from ODOT, which he expected by 9 a.m.

All that remained under a morning sun was a 45-foot-high pile of rubble. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

A huge crowd was expected both in downtown Cincinnati and along the river in Northern Kentucky, but apart from a large throng on the Paul Brown Stadium plaza west of Cinergy, the downtown streets only had a few to see off Cinergy, while at least one riverbank in Covington was jammed with spectators.

Inspectors immediately swooped down on the demolition site, inspecting the new ballpark and what was left of Cinergy Field.

"I went straight to the northeast corner, the part nearest Great American Ball Park, to make sure there was no damage there,'' said Mike O'Rourke, president of O'rourke Wrecking Co., the Cincinnati demolition firm hired to bring down Cinergy Field. "Not a scratch.''

Arnie Rosenberg, project manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff, which is managing the construction of Great American and oversaw the demolition on behalf of Hamilton County, said that teams of engineers and contractors are walking the perimeter of Cinergy Field site to "make sure everything went as planned. It appears that it did."

Despite the large cloud of dust that drifted into downtown Cincy, Mr. Rosenberg said the dust was "less than we anticipated."

Mr. Rosenberg estimated that about 30 percent of the cloud that briefly enveloped downtown Cincinnati was smoke from the explosives, not dust from the collapse of the stadium.

"It was flawless,'' Mr. Rosenberg said. "Not a single hitch.'' While the stadium is now gone, the memories of such events as the Big Red Machine, the Ickey Shuffle, Pete Rose rounding first after setting the all-time hit mark in September 1985, and even Schottzie will always remain for many who watched the implosion.

"When the thing went down, I remembered being 5 years old, and watching the Reds with my grandparents and father. I can't believe it's gone," said Todd Sledge, 32, of Anderson Township, who watched from the corner of Sycamore and Third Streets downtown.

"It feels like the death of the Big Red Machine."

Cinergy was demolished to make way for Great American, which will become the new home for the Cincinnati Reds come March. Cinergy had served as the home for both the Reds and Cincinnati Bengals for most of its existence - the Bengals moved to their new digs at Paul Brown Stadium just a bit down the river in 2000.

The implosion was kicked off by Jim Matthews, the winner of the United Way raffle, who pushed the ceremonial button exactly at 8 a.m., which was immediately followed by the first explosion on the stadium's northeast corner. That was followed by subsequent bangs and flashes at each main joint surrounding the structure. Sections immediately began to crumble, following the detonations in a ring around Cinergy.

"It was the final wave at Cinergy," said Dan Finan, of Fort Mitchell.

Added Tom Gray, a Fort Mitchell native, who returned home from Chicago to watch the implosion: "A lot of memories for me went down in all that dust."

All told, 22,500 tons of steel, 70 miles of reinforced concrete and 600,000 square feet of masonry were brought down by 1,400 pounds of explosives - a 60 percent nitroglycerin mix - implanted over the past week in more than 2,000 holes drilled into the stadium's supporting columns.

"I'm going to miss it. It's part of the skyline, and it's like knocking the front teeth out of Cincinnati," said Jim Inglis, 46, of Withamsville, who came downtown with his wife, Donna and shot the scene with a video camera.

Enquirer reporters Howard Wilkinson, Kristina Goetz, Jim Hannah, Dan Klepal, Kevin Aldridge, Patrick Crowley, Cindi Andrews, Amy Higgins contributed.

SEE CINERGY IMPLOSION
Animation from Enquirer photos
Video from WCPO
Galleries: Implosion | Crowd | Aerial shots | Views from Kentucky

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Riverfront timeline

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PLAN YOUR DAY
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