Riverfront Stadium

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Lore & Background

Riverfront was a multi-purpose, circular 'cookie-cutter' stadium, one of many built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was often confused with Three Rivers Stadium due to similar names and designs. The stadium's field-level seats for baseball were divided in half behind home plate; for football, the third-base side stands wheeled around on a track to left field. The AstroTurf panels covering the tracks could be seen during Reds games. The scoreboard was designed by American Sign and Indicator, later maintained by Trans-Lux, and upgraded in the 1980s with a Sony JumboTron. The playing field was illuminated by 1,648 thousand-watt GTE Sylvania Metalarc lamps.

In Their Own Story

On January 10, 1982, the Ohio River wind cut through the concrete bowl as the Bengals faced the San Diego Chargers in a game that would define cold-weather football. With temperatures at −9 °F and wind chills plummeting to −37 °F, players battled the elements on a frozen field. The Bengals dominated 27–7, earning the moniker 'Freezer Bowl' for their resilience. Years later, during the 1988 season, the atmosphere shifted from survival to celebration as the team went undefeated at home. Fans roared along to 'Welcome to the Jungle,' turning the stadium into a true 'Jungle.' The final years saw a shift in configuration; after the Bengals left for Paul Brown Stadium in 2000, the Reds remodelled the venue, replacing artificial turf with natural grass and removing a large section of stands to make room for Great American Ball Park. A 40-foot wall was erected in deep center field to serve as a batter's eye before the stadium met its end via implosion on December 29, 2002.

Reader's Guide

Riverfront Stadium hosted the Bengals from 1970 to 1999. The most memorable football game was the 1981 AFC Championship Game (the Freezer Bowl) on January 10, 1982, won by the Bengals over the San Diego Chargers 27–7, with the coldest wind chill in NFL history. The Bengals also hosted the 1988 AFC Championship Game, beating the Buffalo Bills 21–10. During the 1988 season, the stadium was nicknamed 'the Jungle' as the Bengals went 10–0 at home; the Guns N' Roses song 'Welcome to the Jungle' became the unofficial theme. The Bengals defeated every visiting franchise at least once at Riverfront, with perfect records against the Arizona Cardinals (4–0), New York Giants (4–0), and Philadelphia Eagles (3–0). They posted a 5–1 record in playoff games at the stadium, with their only home playoff loss to the New York Jets. For most of the Bengals' tenure, the field lacked a midfield logo or end zone writing until the late 1990s.

Did You Know?

• Riverfront Stadium was also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002.
• The Bengals' home playoff losses at Riverfront include the 1990 season AFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Raiders on January 1, 1991.
• During the 1988 season, Riverfront was nicknamed 'the Jungle' and the Bengals went 10–0 at home.