10,100 tons of structural steel will be used in Great American Ball Park. That is the equivalent of 9.8 billion paperclips, or enough to make a paperclip chain that would circle the globe nearly eight times.
 

The 10,100 tons of structural steel used to construct Great American Ball Park is enough to build the Statue of Liberty 81 times.
 

The Model 999 crane used to install most of the structural steel at Great American Ball Park has enough lifting power to simultaneously hoist 192 Volkswagen Beetles.
 

The outfield measurements for Great American Ball Park have a historical significance. Left field will be 328 feet to a 12 foot wall - exactly the same as Crosley Field. Straight-away center will be 404 feet to an eight foot wall - exactly the same as Riverfront Stadium (Cinergy Field) until its modifications for the 2001 season. Right field will be 325 feet to an eight foot wall - the shortest distance allowed by Major League Baseball without raising the wall.
 

An average of three truckloads of steel are delivered and installed every day.   Approximately 217 tons of steel is installed each week. This is enough steel to manufacture 124 cars per week or to construct the facade of the St. Louis Gateway Arch in a single month.
 

The statues in Crosley Terrace will be erected to simulate a game-type situation. Nuxhall will be featured on a pitcher's mound accurate to major league specifications of the Crosley era. Located 60'-6" from the mound will be the batter's box with Lombardi at catcher. Robinson will stand in at the plate, with the “Big Klu” on deck.
 

The term "gap" or "alley" is a baseball term referring to the section of the outfield between the outfielders. A ball hit to this area is called a "gapper".
 

Fans flocked to Avenue Grounds over 125 years ago to see their beloved Cincinnati Red Stockings compete. After moving to Redland Field (what eventually evolved into Crosley Field) and into the American Association in 1882, fans were charged 25 cents at the gate! This was considered much cheaper than the 50 cents that the rival National League charged their fans. Please note that this was also an era where pitchers threw underhanded, fielders played without gloves and batters needed eight balls to be awarded a walk.
 

Throughout history, Opening Day for the Cincinnati baseball has been an event all in itself. Following is a list of historic Opening Days in the Queen City:

The light towers that are being installed at Great American Ball Park are called “Toothbrush Light Towers” because the shape is similar to that of a toothbrush. Long-time Reds fans should notice the resemblance of these light towers to those of the Crosley Field days.
 

On April 26, 1876, the Red Stockings defeated St. Louis 2-1 to christen the brand new Avenue Grounds ballpark. This game also marked the Reds debut into the inaugural National League (which eventually evolved into Major League Baseball).
 

The Motz Group will install the grass playing surface at Great American Ball Park. Located out of Cincinnati, The Motz Group also installed the surface at Cinergy Field, as well as the playing surfaces of the current stadiums for the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers.
 

The seats at Great American Ball Park measure approximately 19 inches in width. If all 42,060 seats were lined up in one continuous row, the seats would equal the distance between home plate and the Kenwood Towne Centre.
 

Great American Ball Park will have 27 ticket windows. There will be 22 ticket-selling locations located along the Reds Administration Building. There also will be five ticket booths atop the stairs facing Broadway, on the northeast corner of the Terrace level of the ball park.
 

The majority of the ball park (95%) will feature Hussey Seating’s “Legend” model. These seats are designed to integrate a traditional looking seat with modern-day advancements. “The Legend” will invoke a nostalgic Crosley Field-era design with the durability and comfort of today. Hussey says that 20% of these seats will be angled 12 degrees towards home plate to improve sight lines.
 

The club seats will be upholstered with a 2-inch padding, and the scout seats behind home plate will be fully upholstered, similar in design and comfort to a chair in a movie theater.
 

The Reds host the Pirates in the inaugural game at Great American Ball Park. Ironically, the Pirates hosted the Reds in the inaugural game at PNC Park last season, as well as the first game at Three Rivers Stadium in 1970.
 

Great American Ball Park will be the first facility to feature natural turf actually grown within a synthetic carpet. This will make the playing surface more durable to adverse weather conditions and the gradual wear and tear of a Major League Baseball Season.
 

The Machine Room is located behind the left field foul line. This location should create an atmosphere where fans will feel as if they are a part of the game. The seats outside the windows of the Machine Room were lowered so fans in the brewpub would be able to watch the game.
 

Mees Distributors was selected to sculpt and install the Spirit of Baseball bas-relief because of their precision cutting technology and accessibility to limestone. Mees installed the elaborate marble flooring at Lakota High School as well as the Man O’War sculpture at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.
 

Each statue will be five percent larger than the actual players they represent. This will make the figures appear proportional to the open setting of Crosley Terrace. Each statue will be placed on a platform two feet off of the ground.
 

As reported in past issues of the Play By Play, the Machine Room will feature many interesting nuances. One main feature that promises to be a major attraction for the brewpub is the big red zamboni from the Riverfront Stadium era. Fans may recall the zamboni rolling onto the field to “squeegee” the playing surface.
 

There are several innovative upgrades to the player locker room and training facilities from what the players and trainers had at Cinergy Field. Following are some interesting additions: