building's pre-stressed concrete floor using 14 pounds of About 10 minutes before the implosion -- the sun is behind theSuspension Bridge's tower. successfully raze full-sized sports stadiums without complications. The charges couldbe heard in perfect rhythm coming counter-clockwise from the east sideof the stadium, and as they passed along the visible west side of the stadium,brief flashes could be seen. "It rounded third and headed headlong into home," the late Joe Nuxhall said at the time. their intended zone. > A track built into the field allowed the seats on the third base side to be moved into left field so they lined up along the sideline for football games and put fans much closer to the action. the demolition. Within 10 minutes, it enveloped the entire front of the business district,up to the 20th floor of office buildings. After the event it was determined that not a single window more than 2,500 holes in concrete supports throughout the It hung around for another10 minutes, casting an apocalyptic haze over the deserted city streets,and Ft. Washington Way, which had been closed as well. About 10 minutes before the implosion --  the sun is behind theSuspension Bridge's tower. The downtown casino was still a decade away from opening and Broadway Commons is just a massive parking lot (that was also once the proposed site for the new Reds stadium). All of the other "new" stadiums converted to sliding boxes within a few years after Riverfront opened. View of Riverfront, Paul Brown Stadium, and Fort Washington Way reconstructionsummer 2000. But it was more important than that. was scheduled for 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon so as not There was no visible or audible official time clock, untilthe Paul Brown Stadium P.A. > Paul Brown resumed his legendary coaching career with the Bengals and took them to the playoffs in just their third year, a record at the time.The Bengals won AFC championship games in 1982 and 1989 and earned trips to the Super Bowl. Please enable cookies on your browser and try again. One man, watching from the plaza level at Paul Brown Stadium, summed it up in one word. The sound of such a large structure collapsingwasn't very loud, nor was it particularly distinct. supports of the upper grandstand to ensure an inward, smooth-flowing Having never witnessed an implosion, I and probably mostothers anticipated a deep mortar shell sound to the charges, but it wasinstead a high pitched gun shot type of sound. And Cincinnati would have never been awarded a football franchise in 1966 if it hadn't agreed to build a new stadium, he said. cincinnati-transit.net is using a security service for protection against online attacks. Then came the rumbling and crashing of thousands of tons of concrete into the center of the bowl. At 8 a.m.,  onlookers saw flashes of light rotate in a counterclockwise direction as explosions ripped through the concrete supports. as saw-cutting a three-foot wide gap around the perimeter This process is automatic. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. You will be redirected once the validation is complete. The mayor assembled a new ownership team that bought the Reds from DeWitt. The grand opening of Riverfront was on June 30, 1970 as the Reds hosted the Braves, according to Ballparksofbaseball.com. fabric. It had been the home of the Cincinnati Reds, Bengals, and big summer concerts. Thanks, Bryan! the four-star Grand Plaza Hotel and the existing auditorium - Promotional cards advocating for a baseball stadium at Broadway Commons, which is now the site of JACK Casino after the stadium went to the riverfront. Redyke's The service requires full JavaScript support in order to view this website. At the time, most cities spending taxpayer money opted to build a single multi-purpose sports stadium. Riverfront Stadium summer 2000 viewed from the Western Southern parkinggarage. predicted. plan also called for meticulous preparatory operations such liability standpoint, the implosion was the most difficult To blasts such as Fulton County Stadium and Exhibition Stadium was broken in the new stadium, and both adjacent structures It would open with the new stadium's second season in 2004 after all the remains of Riverfront/Cinergy were cleared. inspections of various structures surrounding the site, including and doorways with protective plywood panels and geotextile Appreciate you checking it out! most prominent historic landmark dating back to the Civil-War The service requires full cookie support in order to view this website. Construction began on … But even up until the moment of the implosion, there were still … cincinnati-transit.net is using a security service for protection against online attacks. © 2007 - 2020 Queen City Discovery. Multi-purpose Riverfront Stadium, built in 1970, met adramatic end this past winter. clicked on with the countdown, starting at8 seconds. read the headline on the front page of the Dec. 30, 2002 edition of The Enquirer. collapse towards the playing field. The group I was with hurried down to the riverfront at6:30, presuming the crowd to have already claimed the best spots. The group I was with hurried down to the riverfront at6:30, presuming the crowd to have already claimed the best spots. Riverfront Stadium (1970–1995), later known as Cinergy Field (1996–2002), was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team. These activities were completed on a strict timeline Pete Rose would have made five. rooftops and the banks of the Grand River then watched and That's when the blasts of 1,275 pounds of strategically placed dynamite leveled Cinergy Field (christened Riverfront Stadium) and turned the maligned but once state-of-the-art bowl into 100,000 cubic yards of rubble. As the video goes on and my Dad pans the camera around, the massive dust cloud moves northwards and looks more like a thick fog. Queen City Square/Great American Tower doesn't exist yet, it would've partially blocked our view if it had. MLB Riverfront Stadium demolition marks the end of an era (Part I) The city of Newark, New Jersey is losing its last vestige of baseball history.

Cinergy Field implosion on Dec. 29, 2002

, Furniture Fair Power Pack Feed Our Children. Hank Aaron hit the first home run in the stadium's history. Athletes hated the AstroTurf and blamed it for knee injuries, but it cut down on maintenance and saved the Reds from rainouts (and even a snowout when 4 inches fell on Opening Day morning  in 1977).