It’s hard to imagine Cincinnati’s skyline without Great American Ball Park, its gleaming white smokestacks and red paddlewheel defying any notion it doesn’t belong on the city’s storied riverfront.
What a difference three decades make.
In 1998, the battle over where to build a new home for the Cincinnati Reds would ultimately be decided at the polls. After Hamilton County forged a deal with the Reds to build the ballpark on a site known as “the wedge,” aptly named since it sat between what is now Heritage Bank Center and the not-yet-imploded Cinergy Field, supporters of an alternative site started a petition drive. Hamilton County voters would soon be asked to approve a plan to build the ballpark on a site known as Broadway Commons, where the Hard Rock Casino sits today.
Spoiler alert: The ballot measure failed.
I had just started working at The Enquirer during what I call my first tour of duty, and I vividly remember how the ballpark battle divided the city. It pitted high-profile business leaders, who backed the wedge plan, against urban renewal activists who wanted to spark economic activity and new housing in what was then a neglected, dilapidated part of town. Jim Tarbell (now immortalized on a four-story building mural on Central Parkway and Vine Street) became a fixture in the news for his dogged campaign in support of Broadway Commons.
The fight for the ballpark site is the first thing that came to mind when I saw the reaction to news coverage of the recently unveiled update to the development plan for The Banks.
If you haven’t read the 130-page opus, our growth and development reporter, Sydney Franklin, did a great job of distilling it. (Interestingly, she asked Microsoft Copilot to take a crack at summarizing the document, but it was too unwieldy.) On page 65 of the plan is an unpretentious paragraph under the heading, Future Arena Overlook Concept:
The project addresses a critical gap in the district’s year-round activation. … The facility positions The Banks as a complete entertainment destination – sports, culture, conventions, and riverfront experience in one walkable district. Strategic demolition and reconstruction create opportunities for enhanced ground-floor activation, improved pedestrian connections to the new centerpiece civic plaza and the riverfront, and a signature architectural statement that anchors the district’s eastern edge.
That’s right. The project team that refreshed the vision for a fully developed Banks is on the record: Cincinnati needs a new arena, and it needs to be on the riverfront.
Can you feel the battle lines being drawn?
In the fall of 2024, the Cincinnati Regional Chamber commissioned a study that ranked three potential sites for a new arena. The Banks, mostly due to size constraints, did not make the cut.
One site that did make the list is a city-owned property located a block from TQL Stadium (home of FC Cincinnati) and across the street from Music Hall. Officially referred to as Towne Center Garage, it’s the home of public television station WCET, which owns the building.
FC Cincinnati has embarked on an ambitious plan to redevelop the property around the stadium into a mixed-use entertainment district, not unlike the vision for The Banks. You don’t need to be a political insider to know the Major League Soccer team’s ownership is positioning its development as a compelling site for a new arena.
It’s a little premature to say the location of a new arena will spark a battle as epic as the one over Great American Ball Park. First, the updated plan for The Banks still needs to run through the approval gauntlet, starting with the city planning commission on May 15. And then, the (estimated) $800 million question − who’s going to pay for a new arena?
If a private funding source emerges, let’s say, hypothetically, investors tied to the TQL Stadium development, there won’t be much of a debate. You pay, you get to decide.
But if public dollars are raised, grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show. If history is any indication, we’re in for, as Marty Brennaman used to say, a titanic struggle.
Meanwhile, you can count on Sydney, City Hall reporter Scott Wartman, county government reporter Erin Glynn, and the rest of our newsroom to keep you informed as the story unfolds.
As always, I welcome your thoughts. Where would you like to see a new arena?
Enquirer Executive Editor Beryl Love writes a biweekly column that takes you behind the scenes at The Enquirer. Occasionally, he shares his thoughts on local issues, particularly as they pertain to a free press and open government. Email him at blove@enquirer.com. He can’t respond personally to every email, but he reads them all.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Is an arena battle brewing? History says it might be | From the editor
Reporting by Beryl Love, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
