BBBLEACHER BOUND

Around Great American Ball Park

The quick read

A lot of the parks in this guide sit in a sea of parking lots, and the pre-game plan means driving somewhere else for a beer. Great American Ball Park is the opposite. It sits on the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, and The Banks, a mixed-use district of bars, restaurants, apartments, and a hotel, is built into the blocks between the ballpark and Paycor Stadium next door. Smale Riverfront Park runs along the water beside it. You can park the car once, walk to dinner, walk to the game, and walk to a nightcap.

The picks below are short on purpose. The Banks turns over its lineup, and there are more bars within a two-minute walk than any one visit needs. These are the ones worth anchoring a pre-game around.

The Banks at the gates

  • Moerlein Lager House sits on the Smale Park side, right on the riverfront, and ties into Cincinnati’s German brewing history with its own beers and a big patio facing the water. It is the closest thing to a destination brewery-restaurant at the gates.
  • Yard House anchors the middle of The Banks with a long tap list and a large patio, and it holds a crowd well when a group cannot agree on a single kitchen.
  • The AC Hotel rooftop bar gives you the skyline and the river from above, which is the view most bars down at street level do not get.

Over-the-Rhine, a streetcar north

For a bigger night, ride the Cincinnati Bell Connector north. It is the city’s streetcar, it is free to board, and Station 1 sits right at The Banks steps from the ballpark. A few stops up puts you in Over-the-Rhine, the historic brewery district, where the taproom scene is the draw: Rhinegeist and MadTree are the names to know, and Findlay Market anchors the daytime end of it with food stalls and vendors.

This is a trade of walking distance for atmosphere. The Banks keeps you at the gates; Over-the-Rhine is a short ride each way but a deeper neighborhood once you are there.

Before and after the game

Arriving early breaks into two options, and neither one is wrong. You can stay tight to the ballpark and post up at Moerlein or Yard House for the hour before first pitch. Or you can ride the streetcar up to Over-the-Rhine first and work your way back down for the game. Pick by whether the evening is built around the riverfront or around the neighborhood.

After the last out runs the same way. The Banks keeps serving well past the final out, so staying downtown for one more round is a real plan. Heading straight for a streetcar or a rideshare is just as reasonable on a weeknight.

Family-friendly options

The Banks works for families too. A kid-friendly stretch runs right beside the gates, and it holds up for both ends of a game day.

Play-based, anytime: Smale Riverfront Park. The park sits directly east of the ballpark along the river and is open well beyond game hours. The Great Adventure Playground, Carol Ann’s Carousel, the porch swings out over the water, the water and spray features, and a labyrinth give kids a real reason to burn energy before first pitch or long after the game. It is free to walk into, and you can time it to the gates.

Non-alcohol, anytime: Graeter’s. Cincinnati’s French-pot ice cream has a spot at The Banks near Smale Park, so a cone by the river works before or after the game with no bar involved. Inside the park, the TriHealth Family Zone runs kids’ activities and a nursing suite (anytime once you are through the gates, and ticketed).