21. Great American Ballpark — Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ballpark is a baseball palace that could have easily been ranked higher, but when all of the numbers were crunched until they couldn’t be crunched any more, this is where the home of the Cincinnati Reds landed.
It wasn’t the ballpark itself as to why it sits so low. On the contrary, the Great American Ballpark is one of the best spots in MLB to catch a baseball game. The setting is ideal, right on the Ohio River with Cincinnati’s skyline in the background. It’s a model for ballpark scenery that the Los Angeles Angels can only dream of.
Add to the fact that the city and team have done a tremendous job building entertainment and dining new the ballpark, and you have a modern success for how to develop a new ballpark. So with all of this going for it, why on Earth is Great American Ballpark ranked int he 20s? Well, there’s two answers to that.
The first is its weird outfield decisions. Seriously, I’ve never gotten Great American Ballpark’s outfield dimensions. You would think that this would be a plus for the Reds, considering that it would be a great advantage for them? That leads to the second answer — this ballpark has seen some truly mediocre baseball ever since it opened.
Yes, the Reds had a brief time where they were competitive, but the past few years have been utterly depressing, and fans have decided to watch them for free on TV rather than shell out their money to see the Reds in person. For most of the season, you’ll get a glorious look at all of Great American Ballpark’s red seats, which kind of kills the charm of a stadium full of it.