Since I often attend Reds games with octogenarians who do not like to sit outside during inclement spring or hazy hot humid summer games I had become, over the past seasons, a fairly regular guest inside the old Riverfront Club. Originally, the Reds offered Riverfront Club access only to full-season (81 games) ticket holders and only via the purchase of an additional season-long membership somewhat akin to a country club membership. As I recall it was fairly expensive and, as one might expect, few in Reds Country took the bait. After a season or two of that initial policy, the Reds expanded the offer to purchase a Riverfront Club membership to any season ticket holder. This also seemed not to have increased interest in the old Riverfront Club. Eventually the Reds further relaxed restrictions, first allowing any season ticket holder to simply reserve a table on an individual game basis and then, finally, permitting anyone with a gameday ticket access. The Riverfront Club always offered two seating options, one an hour so in advance of the game and a second seating during the game. I consistently opted for the in-game seating so as to not be run off prior to the game's completion. In my experiences, the three levels of tables which all had a field view, were invariably occupied. The main level of the Riverfront Club also had tables (and the bar) but as they had no field view they routinely were unoccupied. The all-you-can-eat buffet was expansive in its dining options and the quality of offerings were unparalleled outside the best four- or five-star restaurants.
To be clear; you paid for the privilege of fine dining, climate control, and patrons still had a field view with the added benefit of having Marty & the Cowboy piped into the Riverfront Club (sans commercials, too!). Over the years, as I recall, the bill of fare usually worked out to approximately $50 per person before gratuity - drinks were not included in the price of the buffet, no free refills on soft drinks, and the excellent desserts were extra, also. Understanding and sympathetic to Bob Castellini's need to be profitable, and while fans couldn't quite get their money's worth, I think $50 +/- was a pretty fair deal. Just not one you'd wish to take advantage of more than a few times each season.
With the complete renovation of the Riverfront Club, in fact a transformation into The Handlebar, in advance of this summer's All-Star Game it is perfectly reasonable to expect an increase in pricing. The end product is a spectacular setting for an evening's entertainment at the ball yard. A variety of leather couches and chairs, high-backed upholstered chairs, tables & chairs and giant high-definition television screens, broadcast audio, the usual expansive view of ballpark and riverfront all achieved with high-end materials and a modern, stylish design ethos. The staff is friendly, helpful and engaging.
As you can see in the image above, aside from weekday games (but not weekend games) for season ticket holders, nobody can get into The Handlebar for less than $65 (and $85 for the non-season ticket holder riff-raff on weekends). Bear in mind, this is in addition to the cost of your admission ticket and - probably - parking. For Lou and I, that amounted to $93. Each.
So what's the problem? First, the minor issue we had of not being able to sit down at any point through the first 5 hours of the pre-game and ensuing rain delay. Yes, it is true that going in we understood there was no guarantee of either a direct field view nor any place to sit. It was a risk we took, but when one rolls the dice and comes up snake eyes, it may be understood why someone isn't happy. No doubt the Reds oversold admission but they didn't appear to be in violation of any fire codes so more power to 'em. Them's the breaks, as the old saying.
The primary compliant we had, really the only complaint - but it was significant - was not the quality of the buffet offerings (save for one example) but rather the selection offered. All-beef hot dogs (with all the standard fixings), some sort of gourmet sausage (for the uninitiated, gourmet means a dish with two too-many ingredients and it was prepared incorrectly), stir-fried rice (looked good, but a pretty inexpensive item), chicken wings (also inexpensive fare), two varieties of salad (ditto the rice and wings), tortilla chips with two varieties of gourmet salsa (but no nacho cheese, no traditional rojo salsa), popcorn, and peanuts. For dessert they made available sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies (both great), brownie bites (excellent), cake bites and bite-sized gourmet cookies of undetermined flavors. The chefs also offered something they referred to as a BLT slider. Served on a slider-sized bun (natch), the "bacon" as near as we could discern was a sort of Canadian bacon, blackened (gourmet) and tough as shoe leather. The "tomato", was a squirt of ketchup (I blame Dubya's FDA school lunch guidelines) and the "lettuce" was three thin sprigs of parsley. It was a serious disappointment. I'm sure the chefs' classmates back at gourmet school loved it. The soft drinks arrived in 10 oz cups, filled to the rim with ice. I had 4 Cokes, probably all-told about 16 ounces. All of which is a far cry from the prime rib and carved roast beef and hearty sides of yore in the Riverfront Club.
Throughout the duration of the rain delay, Lou and I updated the calculations on our running tab... we never came close to getting something like a fair deal. And we ate a ton of food. Understand this; the open bar included alcoholic beverages. For the half-day we spent in The Handlebar waiting out the rain delay there were patrons getting hammered to a degree seldom seen outside of Green Beer Day at Miami U. We surmised that if you're lucky enough to be in The Handlebar for a game which is delayed at the start for several hours and you intend to consume a half-dozen (or more) adult beverages and eat a truckload of food you might approach a fair deal at $65/per.
Part of the expressed desire to upgrade the old Riverfront Club was that it wasn't popular among fans (debatable) and that it also, significantly, was money-loser for the Reds. If it lost money, that was a pricing issue. Yet offering less for more isn't a long-term, viable solution to attract more patrons. To be fair, the Riverfront Club seats and carpeting was showing its age. I cannot imagine that once Reds fans experience the cost-to-service ratio of the new Handlebar that by season's end, and in following seasons, The Handlebar will be any more successful than the old Riverfront Club. Excepting an adjustment in pricing and/or offerings beyond what we experienced, I expect The Handlebar to be a ghost town saloon. Unfortunate, as The Handlebar is otherwise a well-executed facility.
My advice, unless you have a top secret source deep within the Reds organization who grants you free admission into The Handlebar, ixnay.
We got 'stached in The Handlbar!
Roll the credits!
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