By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jerseys hung in the Reds clubhouse at the Great American Ball Park are readied for Opening Day. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

Getting fans into the new Great American Ball Park was the biggest problem the Reds faced during two weekend exhibition games that served as a dry run for Opening Day.

Aside from that, only minor adjustments had to be made, like plugging a few water leaks and adding hot dogs to the Davey's Cones concession stand.

Basically, the dress rehearsal went smoothly, which is why John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer, was in such a good mood Sunday afternoon as the players filtered into their spacious clubhouse for a final workout.

"The most important thing we learned was that the fans love the ballpark," Allen said. "The one thing that bothered me the most was getting fans in the gates and through the turnstiles."

So many customers got jammed up trying to enter the park through the primary entrance at Crosley Terrace just off Main Street that only 12,000 of a crowd of 40,888 were inside Friday night five minutes before Ryan Dempster threw the first pitch.

"That caught us by surprise," said Declan Mullin, senior director of ballpark operations. "Everybody wanted to see our front door."

By Saturday, though, the Reds had adjusted their procedures and the massive backup was prevented. They stationed workers in front of Crosley Terrace to direct fans away from the center lane to other, less congested lanes. And, officials have decided to check fans' bags before they enter the turnstiles.

"We were trying to do too many things at once," Allen said.

After fans learn there are other entrances to the park in addition to Crosley Terrace, the traffic flow will improve, Allen said.

"People were literally walking right past the entrance down there at Pete Rose Way and Broadway," Allen said. "And right below the gap, there's another six or eight turnstiles that people were just walking by."

There were no major problems with the playing field.

"I was a little worried about how the lights would be," Allen said. "You have all the experts come in and test the candle power and point the lights, but it's not major league ballplayers doing that."

Allen also wondered if there would be any complaints about the center field batter's eye pavilion, which serves as both a party room and a hitter's background, but there were no criticisms.

"It was a good dress rehearsal for us," Mullin said. "You can do all the testing you want and have all the dress rehearsals, but until you add the element of the public, you can't practice that."

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com