By Howard Wilkinson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Even a young ballpark can learn new tricks.

PHOTO GALLERIES

• At the ballpark • Opening Day Parade

Monday was only the second Opening Day in the history of Great American Ball Park, but even so, the 42,122 people who filed through the turnstiles found a slightly different ball yard than the one they left last fall.

The Reds made some fan-friendly additions in the offseason - changes that will make it easier for many to get in and out of the ballpark and changes that will provide considerably more pregame and in-game fun for fans who like to roam around.

Last year, there were no exits on the first-base side of the terrace level because the elevated platform where the Reds Hall of Fame building is being built did not exist.

But now there is an expanded plaza on the west side of Great American with new entrances and exits that will relieve the sardines-in-a-can situation that developed after every home game last season.

The expanded plaza adjacent to the Hall of Fame building also has led to the addition of six new concession stands, which should relieve the long lines that formed last year on the first-base concourse.

But the change the Reds hope will generate the biggest buzz is the game area on the plaza behind the Hall of Fame building. Fans can take some swings in a virtual reality batter's box, have their pitches tracked by a radar gun, see how high they can jump in the "Vertical Leap" game, and clock themselves running 90 feet, the distance between bases in Major League Baseball.

There are also large photo boards where fans can stick their heads through a hole and have a buddy take his or her picture as a Reds pitcher or catcher, or posed among Reds stars of the 1990 World Championship team.

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E-mail hwilkinson@enquirer.com