Reds History: Longtime home of the Big Red Machine demolished in 37 seconds

When Terry Francona leads the Cincinnati Reds onto the field on March 27, 2025 against the San Francisco Giants, it will mark the beginning of 22nd season of baseball at Great American Ball Park. The venue first opened to the public on March 31, 2003 following the Reds' 30-plus years at their iconic home stadium on the banks of the Ohio Stadium.

Before the Reds called GABP home, Cincinnati baseball was played at Riverfront Stadium (later renamed Cinergy Field). Construction of Riverfront Stadium began in 1968 and was finished a little over two years later. Unlike GABP's grand opening, the Reds opened Riverfront Stadium during the middle of the 1970 season.

Riverfront Stadium opened on June 30, 1970 and two weeks later played host to the Major League Baseball All-Star. The Reds' home ballpark was the stage for the Big Red Machine during the 1970s and the 1990 wire-to-wire World Series champions. But in late-December of 2002, all the memories came crashing down before a cast of thousands of onlookers.

Reds History: Riverfront Stadium demolished before thousands of spectators

With construction of GABP nearly completed and Cincinnati having concluded its 2002 (and final) season at Cinergy Field in September of that year, the time had come to bid farewell to the Reds' longtime home along the Ohio River.

Many spectators lined the Kentucky-side of the river while others got in their boats for a front row seat of the upcoming implosion that was set to occur in the early-morning hours on December 29, 2002. In total, it took 37 seconds to demolish what the Big Red Machine and the city of Cincinnati helped create.

Nearly 1.9 million Reds fans showed up to the ballpark during its final year of existence and 2.35 million flooded into the newly-built GABP the following season. Unfortunately, the Reds' winning ways during their time at Riverfront Stadium have not carried over to GABP. Since Cinergy Field was razed in 2002, the Redlegs have had just six winnings seasons and no playoff success to speak of.

A portion of the site where the former stadium stood is ironically now occupied by the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum; a building containing memorabilia and memories from the Reds' tenure at Riverfront Stadium.

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