Cincinnati has tons and tons of concert venues of all shapes and sizes.  Most of them have just a handful of shows per month. 

 

Paul Brown Stadium

Great American Ballpark

US Bank Arena

Bank of Kentucky

Cintas Center

Cincinnati Gardens

Aronoff Center (2 theaters)

Music Hall

Memorial Hall

Emery Theater

Taft Theater

Riverbend

PNC Pavilion

P&G Pavillion

Timberwolf?

Fountain Square

Horseshoe Casino

Hollywood Casino

Belterra Casino

Blue Ash Summit Park

Bogart's

20th Century

Madison Theater

Cincinnati Zoo

Seasongood Pavilion at Eden Park

Southgate House Revival

Thompson House

Hamilton County Fairgrounds?

 

I don't know if they still do concerts at Seasongood Pavillion, the only upcoming even I could find was an Internet Cat Video Festival on June 24 http://local.cincinnati.com/calendar/event.asp?ProdID=188388.  When I was a kid and teenager there were definitely concerts there pretty regularly during the summer.  I distinctly remember 4 Non-Blondes playing a free show there, sponsored by Q102, back in 1991 or 1992. 

 

 

If you want to book a show at the Fairgrounds let me know and I'll get you a good price.

Cincinnati has tons and tons of concert venues of all shapes and sizes.  Most of them have just a handful of shows per month. 

 

Paul Brown Stadium

Great American Ballpark

US Bank Arena

Bank of Kentucky

Cintas Center

Cincinnati Gardens

Aronoff Center (2 theaters)

Music Hall

Memorial Hall

Emery Theater

Taft Theater

Riverbend

PNC Pavilion

P&G Pavillion

Timberwolf?

Fountain Square

Horseshoe Casino

Hollywood Casino

Belterra Casino

Blue Ash Summit Park

Bogart's

20th Century

Madison Theater

Cincinnati Zoo

Seasongood Pavilion at Eden Park

Southgate House Revival

Thompson House

Hamilton County Fairgrounds?

 

I don't know if they still do concerts at Seasongood Pavillion, the only upcoming even I could find was an Internet Cat Video Festival on June 24 http://local.cincinnati.com/calendar/event.asp?ProdID=188388.  When I was a kid and teenager there were definitely concerts there pretty regularly during the summer.  I distinctly remember 4 Non-Blondes playing a free show there, sponsored by Q102, back in 1991 or 1992.

 

 

I thought you were kidding about the cat video festival........you were not.

Doesn't the proposal also include an indoor venue for the Banks. Though the one in columbus looks like an oversized tool shed. I wouldn't want that on the Banks.

I didn't realize there were already two proposed companies to run the Banks venue, so I see the struggle. Can I just dream that Dan McCabe and Chris Schadler can run the new venue, but with larger financial backing than they have at Motr and Woodward?

 

I agree that if it would be a MEMI run venue, that is redundant and a waste of space and money. Getting PromoWest or any new to market promoter might be good though. I've now been convinced that we should probably just get the P&G pavillion to be better utilized beyond the couple times per year it's used and leave the lots of the Banks alone.

 

If you want to book a show at the Fairgrounds let me know and I'll get you a good price.

 

They had a 1-day music fest at the Athens County Fairgrounds in 2005 that was a total bust because the county pulled the permit on camping.  So they only got about 4,000 people to come to an event with 7 stages.  Some of the workers raided what cash was collected early on and the promoter paid the rest with mushrooms.  He reportedly lost $45,000 on the event and then staged another one where the very bands who had been booked at the money-losing event paid for free with proceeds paying off the promoter! 

 

You have to admit that an event that permitted camping at the fairgrounds would be pretty amazing...the mascot could be the big Indian, and that White Castle would do unbelievable business. 

I push a lot for Cincinnati to raise its profile in part so it can get more bands (and movies earlier too as both were things that drove me crazy when I lived there and I felt Cincy had enough interesting stuff that it could set itself apart from its neighboring metros).  Make Cincinnati a destination people are willing to travel to and bands will come there because then people could make a weekend out of it ;).

 

Cincy will get more concerts if it sells the assets it has and makes itself a more desirable city for both people to live in and visit.  Its on its way to doing that, but still needs a nice little push, people like Cranley won't help nor will a single new concert venue help either.

If UC was smart they would have had a big music event in Burnett Woods in the fall and in Nippert in the spring for decades.  As-is, Burnett Woods get zero use (I haven't been in the park for 15 years despite living right next to it). 

 

OU used to do this until the drinking age changed. It was called Springfest and students drank on homemade rafts in the Hocking River while bands played on the riverbank.  They ran it for one more year as a non-alcoholic event, and nobody showed up.  That's when Palmer St. threw the first Palmerfest block party, and the rest is history. 

If UC was smart they would have had a big music event in Burnett Woods in the fall and in Nippert in the spring for decades.  As-is, Burnett Woods get zero use (I haven't been in the park for 15 years despite living right next to it). 

 

OU used to do this until the drinking age changed. It was called Springfest and students drank on homemade rafts in the Hocking River while bands played on the riverbank.  They ran it for one more year as a non-alcoholic event, and nobody showed up.  That's when Palmer St. threw the first Palmerfest block party, and the rest is history.

 

I like the idea of UC utilizing Burnet Woods more... but why do you specifically say "Burnett Woods in the fall and in Nippert in the spring"? Is there something about the seasons that makes you suggest that?

 

I'm curious, wouldn't it be possible to do an inside music venue in the banks and have office space on top of it? If it could then why not have it? I agree there are plenty of venues here and don't really feel it's needed but wouldn't see it as a waste. Now if it's like lifestyles pavilion in Columbus where it's just that, then id say no.

That would be incredibly challenging. You'd have to have some seriously massive trusses to be able to span a big enough area for that size venue and still capture 5-10 floors of office levels above.

If you did a music venue why wouldn't you do it outside to have views of the Suspension Bridge, skyline, moon etc.?

 

But I am of the opinion we have plenty of venues & instead need to take advantage of this location to add easy density and population to our city. It's all set up to do so!

It doesn't help that a lot of non-US bands only do "doughnut tours" where they hit the coasts, Texas and Chicago/Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Minneapolis.

I do not think a venue at the Banks is a good idea and happen to agree that the neighborhood is set up for more density not more entertainment.

 

OT but on the venue front...  A lot of bands enjoy unique venues especially if you can get a reputation going with them, the Banks would now offer a unique experience.  If the city can focus on the unique venues it has Music Hall, Emery Theater etc -- see list above... and a new more industrial large Brewery District/West End/Queensgate venue, we would be in great shape.  We just need concert planners to look at MRA not MSA...

If UC was smart they would have had a big music event in Burnett Woods in the fall and in Nippert in the spring for decades.  As-is, Burnett Woods get zero use (I haven't been in the park for 15 years despite living right next to it). 

 

OU used to do this until the drinking age changed. It was called Springfest and students drank on homemade rafts in the Hocking River while bands played on the riverbank.  They ran it for one more year as a non-alcoholic event, and nobody showed up.  That's when Palmer St. threw the first Palmerfest block party, and the rest is history.

 

I like the idea of UC utilizing Burnet Woods more... but why do you specifically say "Burnett Woods in the fall and in Nippert in the spring"? Is there something about the seasons that makes you suggest that?

 

 

Because Nippert Stadium is in use in the fall almost every weekend by UC and local high school football.  And because of the way UC's semester schedule is now, school is out by May 1, which means the leaves aren't all out and the weather still sucks. 

 

Only a handful of schools have the sort of truly dominant sports programs that build alumni loyalty and raise the school's profile.  Tons of schools have attempted to get there through basketball, since it's cheaper than football (Xavier for sure and UC to a lesser extent since the departure of Bob Huggins).  Any university can throw big annual events that everyone remembers forever for way cheaper than building a sports program, but none of them seem to do it.  A big problem is the stupid drinking age thing and alcohol bans on campus.  OU has tons of alumni loyalty because of the half-dozen huge parties (Halloween, Palmerfest, etc.) and the bar culture on Court St.  None of that stuff happens on campus because of the alcohol issues.  UC could get around that by having an event in Burnett Woods, and Nippert is already the part of campus where alcohol is permitted for events. 

 

 

Tiger Dumpling is opening a new 1,500 sq ft location at The Banks, going into the old WG Kitchen + Bar space: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/08/heres-the-newest-restaurant-coming-to-the-banks.html

It was ridiculous the amount of boats that were out on the river this weekend. They can't build the marina soon enough!

Tiger Dumpling is opening a new 1,500 sq ft location at The Banks, going into the old WG Kitchen + Bar space: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/08/heres-the-newest-restaurant-coming-to-the-banks.html

Hopefully they stay open late night like they did when they were at UC.  The Banks is in desperate need of a late night place after the bars close.  I've never understood why food trucks don't just park down there and get all the bar people to buy their food but I assume there is a rule or law that prevents them from doing that. 

There is :(.  Law was put in place banning after midnight...

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

Read this horrible 20 year-old piece by Peter Bronson to see why Cincinnati can't have a level-headed conversation about itself:

http://www.enquirer.com/columns/bronson/1996/03/032496_pb.html

 

I thought it was an act with this guy until I ran into him in real life at the art museum.  He was a true dumbass. 

I thought of the perfect thing to go into the old Toby Keith's space:

 

A UDF.

 

• It's a local brand
  
• Would give the Banks neighborhood a convenience store option that would be a cut above a bodega.  Would be a place for Banks residents to buy alcohol for home
  
• High foot traffic due to Streetcar Stop #1.  People commuting to or from the whole Banks neighborhood via the Streetcar would pass it twice a day.  High foot traffic on game days
  
• Ice Cream option for families visiting the Reds or Smale Riverfront Park
  
• The Lindners could see another little part of their empire from the Great American Tower
  

I thought of the perfect thing to go into the old Toby Keith's space:

 

A UDF.

 

• It's a local brand
  
• Would give the Banks neighborhood a convenience store option that would be a cut above a bodega.  Would be a place for Banks residents to buy alcohol for home
  
• High foot traffic due to Streetcar Stop #1.  People commuting to or from the whole Banks neighborhood via the Streetcar would pass it twice a day.  High foot traffic on game days
  
• Ice Cream option for families visiting the Reds or Smale Riverfront Park
  
• The Lindners could see another little part of their empire from the Great American Tower
  

 

I have always wondered why there is no UDF downtown (if Mount Adams can support a UDF with no gas component i would think downtown can). But the build out for the Howl at the Moon is already well underway at the old Toby Keiths space.

Where would they put the gas station for the UDF?

There are plenty with no gas component. Even the UDF I go to up in Cleveland has none.

The Northside UDF does not have gas. But also, it's quite bad at actually serving the community as any more than a beer and snack stop. The food and toiletry prices are typically high, and the quality low. That being said I'm sure that one at the banks would be a bit nicer.

Sure. There are plenty of those but UDF will not build a new one without a gas station.

Ubahn will be returning to the Riverfront Transit Center for the festival on October 21-22:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/28/ubahn-music-fest-announces-partial-lineup/86464028/

 

Has anybody been to Ubahn in years past? How does that space work for a music festival? The Streetcar will be running then, so it'll be nice for people to be able to access the festival easily. I'd rather see the Transit Center used for it's original intended purpose (transit!), but until that happens I'm happy to see folks use the space creatively. Other than Ubahn, are there are any other events that use that space?

I've never been to Ubahn, but I did go to a free music festival down there several years ago. It worked surprisingly well.

I went to something down there about 5 or 6 years ago. There was a Scion car show and some bands playing. It was an awesome use of the space, and should be even better now with all the amenities around. Hopefully some out of towners will come stay at the new hotel. Does anyone know when that will be completed?

^Yeah that's what I went to. The bands I remember being there were RJD2 and Chairlift.

I thought of the perfect thing to go into the old Toby Keith's space:

 

A UDF.

 

• It's a local brand
  
• Would give the Banks neighborhood a convenience store option that would be a cut above a bodega.  Would be a place for Banks residents to buy alcohol for home
  
• High foot traffic due to Streetcar Stop #1.  People commuting to or from the whole Banks neighborhood via the Streetcar would pass it twice a day.  High foot traffic on game days
  
• Ice Cream option for families visiting the Reds or Smale Riverfront Park
  
• The Lindners could see another little part of their empire from the Great American Tower
  

 

I have always wondered why there is no UDF downtown (if Mount Adams can support a UDF with no gas component i would think downtown can). But the build out for the Howl at the Moon is already well underway at the old Toby Keiths space.

 

Well, best of luck to them, but they won't be able to take full advantage of the all-hours (mornings included) foot traffic that will be going by there like another kind of business there might have. 

 

Maybe it's only tangentially related in this case, but I don't think many business people and leaders are thinking "fourth dimensionally" (as Doc Brown would say) about the streetcar yet!

 

Here's a photo from the end of May showing the progress at the new AC Hotel at The Banks:

 

 

Of course they are a bit farther along now. I think they are totally topped out at this point.

Bad architecture aside, this part of the city has come together quite nicely, relatively speaking. To think what we had there 13 years ago. If we could just get that spec tower built at Walnut and Second the fabric of that end of TBX would be complete.

I honestly feel like big trees on the streets down there would make it perfect.

That's not a very big space for a potential office building. 

That is a massive space for a potential office building.

That's not a very big space for a potential office building. 

 

Don't forget that the parking garage ramp will be part of the building's footprint, so floors 3 and up will have more usable square footage.

That's not a very big space for a potential office building.

 

The floor plates are ~25,000 sq ft, and at 10 stories it will have ~233,496 total (since the lower floors are a bit smaller due to the parking ramp):

 

http://www.180walnut.com/facts.html

 

It honestly surprises me that we haven't seen an office user come forward to launch the construction of 180 Walnut. We've had several large office buildings built in recent years (Kenwood Collection, Mercy Health, Rookwood tower, 84.51) and most of these sites don't have anywhere near the built in amenities that The Banks site has. Maybe with GE moving into their building and the streetcar opening in a month, viable interest in this site will pick up.

Ah ok I thought it was only the space north of the garage ramp, that is a fairly large space then.  I imagine it is crazy expensive to build there so that's why a developer hasn't just put up an office with the intent of renting it out.  I think it's going to take one or two larger companies to go in on that before anything is ever built.  It's shame Dunhumby/84.51 didn't go there.  They could have easily just made their current building apartments above the street level retail. 

Here's a photo from the end of May showing the progress at the new AC Hotel at The Banks:

 

Of course they are a bit farther along now. I think they are totally topped out at this point.

 

And here is one from yesterday:

There will be a rooftop patio on top of the AC Hotel, right? The views of Smale and the river will be great from up there.

Yes there will be a rooftop on the AC by Marriott.

Took a photo of the GE building last night. It looks like most of the interior is finished. Good looking building, both at day and at night:

 

I'm sorry but the GE building and the one next to it are so bland.  Good looking?  Personally, I do not think so.

Love the GE building. Really adds to our riverfront

Something of scale needed to be added and thus it makes a big impact.  It helps that the facade is glass and so has a "new" feel. But it is very general (pun intended), extremely suburban feeling, and not very pretty.

 

More scale would have been great, and if you cant get that through floors then with a glass or metal building skin that covers the roof mechanical.

My hope for quality at this location was not pie in the sky but just on par with quality urban office space, double height lobby, roof terrace, amenities floor, integrated streetscape... 

 

Decent example with exact same scale:

1200 17th Street Washington DC

12 stories

ZGF Architects - practical US firm, with quality but not fancy work. 

Akridge Development

 

 

The GE building is the Andy Dalton of architecture

I really wished for a bit more scale or style that felt modernly industrial like the two stadia around it. 

 

But there is still time with a few more sites and buildings to go up in the area.

I like that you linked to a project in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan (the second photo). The general character they should have gone for at The Banks would have ideally been similar to a lot of the modern infill in MePa. It is thoroughly contextual with the industrial nature of the historic buildings but so modern that there is no mistaking it for an old building. No faux historicism, but completely contextual. That kind of modern industrial infill would have felt awesome along Cincy's riverfront.

The GE building is the Andy Dalton of architecture

 

I approve of this.