|
|
| Martha |
12/29/2002��11:58:48�EST
Cincinnati's Cinergy Field Demolished
By JOHN NOLAN
Associated Press Writer
The old Riverfront Stadium, where Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's home run record, Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's hitting record, and the Bengals played one of the NFL's coldest games, was demolished Sunday to make way for a Cincinnati Reds hall of fame.
At a button's push, 1,275 pounds of dynamite and nitroglycerine went off in a counterclockwise sequence of blasts around the field, collapsing the 32-year-old stadium inward onto its former playing surface.
Workers had already stripped out the lighting, seats and other fixtures to prepare the ballpark, first known a Riverfront Stadium and later renamed Cinergy Field.
Three blocks away at Paul Brown Stadium, the new home of the Cincinnati Bengals, thousands of spectators cheered and applauded as Cinergy Field crumbled in a series of explosions and flashes. As the white upper facade caved inward, a huge dust cloud shrouded the sight and spread along the Ohio River shore.
"It looks picture-perfect," said David Griffin Jr., vice president of DH Griffin Wrecking Co., which worked on the implosion.
The demolition crew left part of the outfield wall standing to protect the Reds' new ballpark that is nearly complete next door.
The $280 million Great American Ball Park and the nearby John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, which spans the Ohio River to Covington, Ky., were not damaged by Cinergy's collapse, said Mike Sieving, a construction project executive with Hamilton County.
Riverfront Stadium opened in 1970 with Hank Aaron hitting a home run in the first game. That fall, the stadium hosted the World Series in which the Reds lost to the Baltimore Orioles.
On opening day in 1974, Aaron tied Ruth's career home run record.
The Reds went on to win three World Series, back to back in 1975 and '76 with Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench leading the Big Red Machine, and then again in 1990. In 1985, Rose passed Cobb to become baseball's career hits leader.
In the winter, the stadium was home to the Bengals, who reached two Super Bowls while playing there.
In one of the NFL's coldest games, Jan. 10, 1982, the Bengals overcame a wind chill of 59 degrees below zero to beat the San Diego Charges 27-7 in the AFC championship game, advancing to their first Super Bowl.
The Bengals left the stadium in 1999, opening play in 2000 at Paul Brown Stadium. The Reds played their final season at Cinergy this year and plan to move into the nearly completed Great American Ball Park in the spring.
The demolition contractor, O'Rourke Wrecking Co., has until Aug. 31 to clear the demolished stadium, which includes part of Cinergy Field's former parking lot and flood wall.
The site will become the western concourse of Great American Ball Park and will include the Reds hall of fame, set to open in 2004.
___
On the Net:
http://www.orourkewrecking.com |
|
CHAT ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
RESTROOMS]