Great American Ball Park is a baseball venue located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). It opened in 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), which had been their home field from June 1970 to 2002. Despite the patriotic tone of the name, the park's name comes from the Great American Insurance Group, which purchased the park's naming rights. Carl Lindner, Jr., the late chairman of Great American Insurance Group's parent company, American Financial Group, was the majority owner of the Cincinnati Reds from 1999 to 2005.
In 1996, Hamilton County voters passed a one-half percent sales tax increase to fund the construction of new venues for both the Reds and the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). The Reds and the Bengals had previously shared occupancy of Cinergy Field, but by the mid-1990's, they complained that the multi-purpose stadium lacked amenities necessary for small-market professional sports teams to compete and each lobbied for venues of their own. Nearby Paul Brown Stadium broke ground in 1998 and was opened on August 19, 2000.
Great American Ball Park was built by the architectural firms Populous (formerly HOK Sport) and GBBN at a cost of approximately $290 million. It is located on the plot of land between the former site of Cinergy Field and US Bank Arena; it was known locally as the “wedge”. The limited construction space necessitated the partial demolition of Cinergy Field. It was fully demolished on December 29, 2002.
The original address of Great American Ball Park was 100 Main Street. However, after the death of former pitcher and longtime broadcaster Joe Nuxhall in 2007, the address was changed to 100 Joe Nuxhall Way. A sign bearing Nuxhall's traditional signoff phrase “rounding third and heading for home” is located on the third base side exterior of the park. The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is adjacent to Great American Ball Park. In honor of Crosley Field, the Cincinnati Reds' home park from 1912 to June 1970, a monument reminiscent of the park's infamous left field terrace was built on the main entrance plaza on Joe Nuxhall Way; statues of Crosley-era stars Nuxhall, catcher Ernie Lombardi, first baseman Ted Kluszewski, and outfielder Frank Robinson are depicted playing an imaginary baseball game.
Read more about Great American Ball Park: Features of Great American Ball Park, Screen Renovations For The 2009 Season, Notable Non-baseball Events, Milestones and Notable Moments, Attendance Records, Statistics
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