I just returned from a game at Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark, and here’s how it went.
Traveling to Cincinnati was comparatively easy, though, as it was a Monday (the flights were cheaper later in the day), and my dad and I got to the hotel at around midnight local time. The planes were lovely, with the first from Tulsa, or as I say to my friends on Discord’s Phase World, due to our shared appreciation of their talents like Ember Amane, Dizzy Dokuro, and Ashelia “Lia” Rinkou, being a standard Embraer E175. The one we got on from Houston, however, was in a very modern Airbus A320, with United’s latest in-flight entertainment system, and was something that I could get used to even in the middle seat.
Fairfield Inn and Suites, Newport, KY
The hotel was also great—on the Ohio River in Newport, KY—and I ended up with a two-bedroom suite on the sixth floor at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. Everything looked very nice, but my biggest complaints were that the remotes were challenging to position and that the YouTube TV app didn’t want to load for me. The suite was a little extra but worth $220 per night.
Getting to the stadium was not difficult, with the Southbank Shuttle dropping off passengers about a block away, and the pickup point being just down the street from the ballpark. Headways off-peak were reasonable on that route, at 15 minutes, but not on many other regional routes, like on Metro Route 1 from Government Square to Mt. Adams, which was at 45 minutes.
The stops are not standard, but better than many American cities, with many standing-only and unsheltered stops. Fare machines on the bus do not seem to make day passes, and there is no QR code for their app at the stop, only on the bus when you have already paid. The price is average, at $2 per ride, or $5 for a TANK and Metro day pass. No three-day or weekly passes are offered, however.
Restaurants weren’t entirely on the list of things to do, though I did have White Castle for the first time (it was middling). I also had some Skyline Chili at the game, which was very good, but as it was the stadium location, two chili dogs cost $13.98 before tax. The other restaurant I went to was Holy Grail Tavern and Grille, outside the stadium, which was also good, though the buffalo wing sauce didn’t quite stick to the wings.
Great American Ballpark (photo courtesy Vieste, LLC)
To the game itself, the fan experience was good, with outside vendors showing up early for the fans descending on the ballpark. Access to the ground was very open, especially to Gates A and J. Due to the special celebration of the man who is the most prolific hitter of all time, Pete Rose, occurring before the game, a significant crowd was waiting, even more than 90 minutes before the game.
The celebration was marred somewhat by a protester, who had his microphone and speaker, and spewed arguments that Catholics, Muslims, and Hindus were all “going to hell.” The Cincinnati Police ensured that he followed the relevant codes, including the one on volume, as he could be heard from nearly the beginning of the line that formed, despite audio playing from the stadium.
I am ashamed of myself, more so in the fact that I didn’t think of it then, that I did end up treating the crowd to 90 decibels of God Save The Queen by the Sex Pistols. Once in the ballpark, noting that Go-ahead Entry does not extend to the entirety of the listed gate, there was a significant line of people who rushed for size exchanges of the commemorative jersey, which Reds staff responded well to. I got the chili dogs and a pencil and went to our seats in section 433.
The section was steep but provided a good view of the action. The pre-game ceremony was well done and featured several Reds legends, including several former players and most of the family he left behind. The game’s tone was set early, with the Reds failing to convert strong early-inning hits against White Sox pitcher Davis Martin. De La Cruz grounded into a double play to end the first, and doubles were wasted in the second, fifth, and sixth.
Meanwhile, the Reds and Nick Lodolo found out the hard way how difficult it is to put away hitters like Chase Meidroth and Luis Robert Jr. Although he managed to limit the free passes down to two in his 5.1 IP, by the time he was done, he had thrown 97 pitches, the last leaving the park from the bat of Lenyn Sosa. There was a fight in the Reds after the second White Sox long ball, this time by Michael A. Taylor, when they came out of the stretch and hit a homer from Spencer Steer. Ultimately, the rally came too late, and they went down 4-2.
Finally, if you are going to go, I would also recommend visiting the Reds Hall of Fame, on the stadium grounds. The experience was very worthwhile, especially with their various exhibits where you can get involved, like calling the infamous Lou Pinella base throw. If you don’t care much about the Big Red Machine, I would also visit the National Museum of the Underground Railroad, documenting those who fought the good fight against our nation’s greatest shame, by helping guide slaves who ran from their masters to the North and Canada.
Overall, if you want to see an MLB game, Great American Ballpark is a great place to see one, and Cincinnati is a great place to visit.
