Historic Nippert Stadium

Official Review by Bill Kintner, Stadium Journey Special Correspondent

Nippert Stadium is a beautiful football venue located in the middle of the University of Cincinnati's campus. As fans walk through the campus to Nippert, there is a ton of activity. In the shadow of academic buildings and sports facilities, fans are tailgating, eating carefully prepared feasts, playing corn hole, tossing balls around as they prepare to watch their Bearcats play football and the amazing thing is they have been coming to this campus location to watch football since 1902. That makes it the fourth-oldest playing site and fifth oldest stadium in college football. Take that Ohio State Buckeyes!

Since this is such an old stadium a little history lesson is in order.

In 1915, construction began on a permanent brick-and-concrete stadium structure, which was completed, section by section as funds were raised.

During a game with rival Miami (OH) in 1923, Jimmy Nippert sustained a spike wound injury and died a month later from blood poisoning. His grandfather, James N. Gamble of Proctor and Gamble, provided the funds needed to complete the horseshoe-shaped structure and the James Gamble Nippert Memorial Stadium was dedicated on November 8, 1924.

Over the years Nippert Stadium has undergone a series of renovations including in 1936, the field was lowered 12 feet to allow spectator seating to increase to 24,000. In 1954 a pavilion/upper deck was added to bring the capacity up to 28,000 and in 1991 the upper deck was extended to bring the capacity up to 35,175 and a new press box was constructed.

Even with all the improvements Nippert Stadium still has early-century brickwork combined with wrought iron gates and trim, that give it a comfortable old-time stadium charm, while continuing renovations have enabled it to remain what I think, is a classic showplace for college football.

Food & Beverage    2

This is stadium food and nothing else. The food is decent and the prices are average at best for BCS football. However, for fans that like a little brew as they watch football, Nippert is one of the few Big East venues to serve beer. There are several Miller and Budweiser products to choose from. Donato's Pizza is served and there are some ice cream bars too, but other than that, just the basics are served at the concession stands.

There is the Stadium Café on the concourse level of the north end zone and this little restaurant serves burgers and sandwiches, plus it is air conditioned. It is tough to see all the action, unless you are standing, so the TVs come in handy.

Hot dogs: $3.75, A big dog (Kahns) that was very salty, but nothing spectacular . The bun was warm and soft. Rating: B-

Popcorn: $3.75, This popcorn had a very strong butter taste. It was a little chewy. Rating: B

Nachos w/ cheese: $3.75, Great chips that were whole, not broken and good cheese that was lightly spiced. Rating: A

Pepsi: 32 oz plastic cup $5.25.

Atmosphere    5

Fans start to experience the atmosphere as they walk through the campus that is abuzz with activity on the way to Nippert Stadium. Once inside, fans will find that there is not really a bad seat.

Nippert Stadium is a very unique stadium. The first thing that is unique is that it is an open stadium that is enclosed with temporary fencing. When there is no game, students or anyone for that matter, can wander through the stadium on their way to class or through the campus.

Next there is a building that is part of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music called Dieterle Vocal Arts Center that was originally built in the early 1900s as a women's gymnasium and it is just part of the stadium standing above the south end zone. Also at the south end zone portion of the stadium, in the shadow of Dieterle Vocal Arts Center, there is a small deck where fans gather to talk, drink beer and watch the game and is several steps above the concourse. Fans stand on the steps during the game too. Up until a few years ago fans could smoke on those steps, but that ended in a flurry of political correctness like it did at most other college venues.

The main concourse that circles the stadium and the field is visible from any point on the concourse. The stadium is a horseshoe design with permanent seating at the north/open end. On the east side of the field there is an upper seating deck called the Herschede-Shank Pavilion. There is a ring of honor with retired numbers of former Bearcat players on the facing of the Herschede-Shank Pavilion.

The scoreboard is on the north end. It includes a large video display board and it displays all the important stats.

Season ticketholders get a small padded seat (except for the seats under the score board) and everyone else sits on bleachers. There are numerous areas all along the concourse, where fans can stand and watch the game. That is something you will not find at many stadiums.

Neighborhood    4

Fans are right in the middle of a college neighborhood full of restaurants and bars, so fans ought to be able to get anything they want to eat. While you are on campus, walk around and you will find a campus that is hopping on football Saturday. Next to the stadium is Fifth Third Arena, home to Mick Cronin's Bearcat basketball team and some great Big East contests. Marge Schott Stadium home of Bearcats Baseball is right next to Fifth Third Arena and the Ben and Dee Getler stadium home for the soccer/track and field teams is close by too. The whole athletic complex is called the Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village.

For out of town fans I would make it a point to visit Skyline Chili and Graeter's Ice Cream, both are located on Ludlow Avenue a little more than a half mile north of Nippert Stadium. The ice cream is French Pot Ice Cream made pretty much the same way since Graeter's was founded in 1870. Graeter's is also known for fresh bakery goods and homemade candy. Most people are probably familiar with Cincinnati-style chili and if you are not you will find it served on spaghetti and on hot dogs, not in a bowl, at Skyline Chili.

Another well-known Cincinnati specialty is LaRosa's Pizza. All you need to know is that LaRosa's has about 40 percent of the pizza market in the Greater Cincinnati area, and it is located on Short Vine (Street), just a few blocks east of Nippert Stadium.

Martino's On Vine, also on Short Vine Street has good Italian food along with burgers and sandwiches mostly in the $6-10 range.

South of campus on McMillan Avenue is Christy's & Lenhardt's, which is a fun bar coupled with a German restaurant. Food there ranges from about $10 to $15 for an entree. Also on McMillan Avenue are a ton of ethnic restaurants and within a few blocks, a Five Guys Burgers, Buffalo Wildwings, Chipotle and Potbelly's can be found.

For fans going to Short Vine or McMillan, that is just a short walk from campus. It is about a 20 minute walk to get to Ludlow Avenue and Skyline Chili has parking for its customers.

Fans    4

The fans are typical college football fans. They wear the school colors, tailgate before and after the game and they make a whole lot of noise.

The students take up most of the south end zone seating. They are loud and are a big part of the atmosphere. The band is solid and along with the other students they chant several cheers throughout the game. Even though they serve beer, the fans are well-behaved.

After each score, the ROTC students located on the field just behind the south end zone, fire off a canon. They also get on the ground and do push-ups after each touchdown.

Access    4

Since Nippert Stadium is located in the middle of campus, if you are looking for a stadium in a field on the edge of campus surrounded by parking, where you can get in and out of it easily, you will not find it. But the location of Nippert Stadium, in the middle of campus is one of the things that makes it so unique. The campus is located on one of the many hills that overlooks downtown and in between I-75 and I-71. There is plenty of free street parking located between a quarter mile and mile from Nippert Stadium. If you really want to part with some greenbacks, there are several garages on the edge of campus that charge $10.

Inside the stadium it gets a little tight at peak times. There are not enough concession stands and restrooms, so plan on waiting for both during peak times. Again having an almost century-old stadium wedged into the middle of campus is not conducive to a lot of the comforts that can be found in newer stadiums. The charm of Nippert Stadium far out-weighs the drawbacks though.

Return on Investment    4

Tickets are $28 and $50 each, which is pretty darn good for BCS football. So a fan can see a game for $28 dollars, if he parks on the street and doesn't eat anything. If he eats a dog, some popcorn and gets a large Pepsi, the cost increases to just under $41. It's a pretty good deal in comparison with other BCS schools.

Extras    5

I will award a point for being in the middle of campus, a point for firing off the canon after each score, a point for having a concourse that circles the stadium and two points for being a unique, historic stadium and fun place to watch a football game.

Final Thoughts

Nippert Stadium is one of the most unique football stadiums in the country. It is a great place for families to come for a reasonably priced football afternoon or night of fun. Cincinnati is a great sports town and a good place for a weekend getaway planned around a UC game. Nippert Stadium is certainly one of our nation's sports treasures and sports fans should put it on their stadium tour list.


**Pictures courtesy of the University of Cincinnati