The Cincinnati Reds are struggling on the field and at the turnstiles, but they have generated a hit with the creation of their new Fioptics District at Great American Ball Park.
The rooftop patio area and walk-in bar in left field, which made its debut with the start of the regular season, has generated a 72 percent occupancy rate, including nine sellouts, compared with 55 percent for the area’s old layout, an all-you-can-eat general seating area.
The Fioptics District contains the outdoor rooftop patio, which includes a 15-foot video board, wood flooring and views of the downtown Cincinnati skyline; the Fioptics Gigabar below it, which has a large walk-in bar and virtual reality experience; and the Cincinnati Bell Connections Skybar, a private hospitality area reserved for guests of the telecommunications company. Cincinnati Bell, a longtime partner, expanded its relationship with the club to help create the Fioptics District and is also powering the virtual reality experience.
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With skyline views, the Fioptics District has been a hit at Great American Ball Park.
Photo by: CINCINNATI REDS
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The development of the Fioptics District, a $3 million project undertaken over the offseason, follows a growing trend among MLB teams to create more communal standing-room areas in their facilities, including the Colorado Rockies’ successful Rooftop at Coors Field and the Cleveland Indians’ Right Field District.
A key component of the Reds’ area is a new $15 District Ticket that includes general-admission access to three ballpark sections, standing drink rails and the rooftop patio, and also includes a $9 concessions credit sufficient to cover the buyer’s first drink. The Indians have been successful with a $13 standing-room ticket that includes a free beer or soft drink.
“We’ve long envisioned having a better group space at the ballpark, something that in particular would really serve as a niche for millennials, and even though it’s still early, we’ve already seen meaningful lift from the whole project,” said Phil Castellini, Reds chief operating officer. “We also think there’s a ton of opportunity with this space on non-game days.”
The creation of the new ballpark areas arrives at a time of marked transition for the franchise. The Reds are in the midst of a large-scale rebuilding of their major league talent pool and were 17 games out of first place in the NL Central at midweek last week. And without the ticket sales lure of the MLB All-Star Game, which the club played host to last year at Great American Ball Park, the Reds thus far in 2016 have the largest attendance decline in the league, at nearly 8,000 a game.
Beyond the creation of Fioptics District, the Reds continue to embrace other approaches to attract new fans. The club recently partnered with mobile technology company Experience to create a Summer Pass in which 15 Sunday and weekday home games in June and July will be sold for a flat rate of $59. Like several other pass-based ticket products developed by Experience for MLB clubs, seating locations will not be assigned until fans indicate on the day of each game whether they will attend.
