| Not much differentiated Riverfront Stadium from the
other circular stadiums built in the 70's (Three Rivers Stadium and Veterans
Stadium). It was a completely enclosed, multi-deck, multi-purpose park
with artificial turf (until 2001) and little character or uniqueness.
What is did have (at least in '95 when Marge Schott was still the owner)
was very affordable prices - on everything from parking to tickets to concessions
and souvenirs. The press said a lot of bad things about Schott, but
she did a great job of keeping the baseball experience an affordable one
in Cincinnati. Having sat about 15 rows behind home plate for one game
I attended, I was not impressed with the sightlines. The incline of
the seating was not steep enough as people in the row ahead of me
were blocking my view. The seats (at least the box seats) were quite
spacious, though. In the mid 90's, the Reds started to make some renovations to Riverfront Stadium.
Much of the outfield seating was removed and real grass installed.
It was certainly more of a traditional baseball park in its last few years. Despite the renovations that were
made, Riverfront was still not a great place to see a game. Sightlines
remained poor and the concourse areas were just too dark and cold. They
did have a good variety of concessions at decent prices. Certainly not
a facility that will be missed by many, though it was home to some great
baseball moments in the 70's and 80's. The Reds new ballpark, Great American Ballpark opened in 2003 at which time Riverfront Stadium was imploded.
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