Sports in Cincinnati

Sports in Cincinnati includes three major league teams, twelve minor league teams, and five college institutions with sports teams. Cincinnati also has seven major sports venues.

Great American Ball Park, home of MLB's Cincinnati Reds.

Major league teams

The Cincinnati Bengals started in the American Football League from 1968–1969, then after the AFL/NFL merger continued with the National Football League from 1970 to present.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first professional baseball team, established in 1869. The Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball were established in 1882.

FC Cincinnati is a team in Major League Soccer, which began play in March 2019.

Major league professional championships

Cincinnati Reds (MLB)

5 World Series titles

Minor league teams

Cincinnati Cyclones, ECHL
Florence Y'alls, Frontier League (located in Florence, KY, 14 miles south of downtown Cincinnati)
Cincinnati Dutch Lions, USL Premier Development League
Kentucky Enforcers, PBL

Major colleges

NCAA Division I

Smaller colleges

Venues

Paul Brown Stadium – Football, (capacity 65,535)
Great American Ball Park – Baseball (42,059)
Nippert Stadium – University of Cincinnati football, FC Cincinnati soccer (40,000 for football, normally restricted to 33,250 for soccer)
Heritage Bank Center – Hockey, basketball, football, soccer (17,556)
Fifth Third Arena – University of Cincinnati athletics (13,176)
Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio – Tennis (Center Court: 11,000; Grandstand Court: 5,000; Court #3: 2,000)
Cintas Center – Xavier University athletics (10,250)
BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky – Northern Kentucky University athletics (9,400); also temporary home of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball in 2017–18 during renovations to Fifth Third Arena
West End Stadium – To open in 2021 as the permanent home for FC Cincinnati soccer (25,500–26,500)

Other sporting events

The suburb of Mason hosts the professional international tennis event, the Western & Southern Open. The men's Masters is one of the elite nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, and the Women's tournament is a Premier event on the WTA Tour.

Nearby Sparta, Kentucky is home to Kentucky Speedway.

In March 2005 and 2006, the U.S. Bank Arena hosted the Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament. BB&T Arena, then known as The Bank of Kentucky Center, hosted the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship in 2012.

Every May since 2000, Cincinnati has hosted the annual Flying Pig Marathon which winds through downtown and Northern Kentucky.

A 2014 college basketball game that elevated brain tumor patient Lauren Hill to national prominence and was named Best Moment at the 2015 ESPY Awards was played at Cintas Center on the Xavier University campus. Since Hill's death in 2015, Xavier has hosted the Lauren Hill Classic; from 2015 through 2019, it was an annual doubleheader that opened the regular season for both the Mount St. Joseph and Xavier women's teams, but is now a midseason event only involving Xavier.

Recreation

The Sphere - Cincinnati's Premier Sports Facility is home to two ice sheets that are home to the Queen City Steam travel hockey organization. It is also home to an inline hockey rink that has a large adult hockey league. There are also 6 basketball courts that host many tournaments, as well as, youth and adult leagues.

Within the urban core of the city and its immediate surroundings, the Steps of Cincinnati offer an urban hiking experience.^[1]

Cincinnati and the surrounding metropolitan area has a multitude of disc golf courses.

Former professional teams

Cincinnati Bengals (1937–1941), a member of the American Football League (1936). Competed in AFL II (1937), the minor AFL of 1938 (1939), and AFL III (1939-1940).
Cincinnati Celts, played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922).
Cincinnati Blades, team that competed in the American Football League (1938).
Cincinnati Reds, NFL team that played in the 1933 NFL season and the first eight games of the 1934 NFL season.
Cincinnati Rockers, team that competed in the Arena Football League from 1992–1993.
Cincinnati Royals, NBA team 1957-1972
Cincinnati Stingers, World Hockey Association, 1975-1979
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, American Hockey League, 1997-2005
Cincinnati Stingers, Central Hockey League (Minor League), 1979-1980
Cincinnati Kids, Major Indoor Soccer League, 1978-1979
Cincinnati Riverhawks, Professional Soccer, USISL PDL (1997), USL A-League, (1998–2003)
Cincinnati Kings, USL Premier Development League
Cincinnati Silverbacks, NPSL, 1995-1998
Cincinnati Suds, APSPL, USPL, 1977-1982
Cincinnati Rivermen, NASL, 1980

References

^ "Hillside Steps". City of Cincinnati Transportation & Engineering. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.

External links

http://www.thespherecincinnati.com
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2015/08/11/source-cincy--getting--new-pro-soccer-team/31456919/?
Sun, July, 4, 1943, Dayton Daily Daily News, p. 16. “Cincinnati Clocks, Bombers Play Here Sunday”

[1] "Hillside Steps". City of Cincinnati Transportation & Engineering. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.

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