Goodbye to The Gardens
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

Goodbye to The Gardens

There was never a better place to watch hockey in Cincinnati. The Gardens was classic. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

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Stadium Seats and Stories From the Gardens
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

Stadium Seats and Stories From the Gardens

Over this weekend, I was lucky enough to add an original seat from the Cincinnati Gardens to my pair of Riverfront Stadium seats. I loved the Gardens and have a lot of great memories from there. I'm still hoping that I can maybe do one more story on the place and see it one last time before its date with the wrecking ball.

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Crosstown Knockdown 2014
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

Crosstown Knockdown 2014

The Cincinnati Rollergirls closed out their 2014 season with a win at the Cincinnati Gardens this past Saturday. Will it be one of the last events held there?

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Preparing For The Final Bout of 2014
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

Preparing For The Final Bout of 2014

The Cincinnati Rollergirls, the Queen City's all amateur, flat track roller derby team practicing at the legendary Cincinnati Gardens for their final bout of the 2014 season.

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Monster Trucks at the Gardens
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

Monster Trucks at the Gardens

January might as well have been "Monster Truck Month" in Cincinnati. For three weekends straight, the Cincinnati market was saturated with three different touring circuits of over-sized pickup trucks that drive around and crush cars. Last week there as an event at the US Bank Arena downtown, next week there's one at the Bank of Kentucky Center on NKU's campus, but this week there were monster trucks at the best arena in town: the Cincinnati Gardens.

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How Minor League Hockey Should Be
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

How Minor League Hockey Should Be

Andy MacWilliams is known to tell the story of how in 1977, the front office staff of the Cincinnati Stingers were answering the telephones with: "Cincinnati Stingers - National Hockey League (NHL)," in anticipation of the announcement that would come later in the day, declaring the Cincinnati World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise as part of the WHA's merger deal with the NHL. MacWilliams, the former Stingers radio broadcaster who would later become the voice of the Xavier Musketeers, would be disappointed along with the rest of the front office when they were informed that the merger deal had been voted down by the NHL.

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The "Greatest Show in Town."
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

The "Greatest Show in Town."

It's not Ringling Brothers and it's not Cirque du Soleil, but it's a Cincinnati tradition that has traversed other mid-western cities and the entire nation since 1906. Usually stopping for three days of shows in the Queen City, the Syrian Shrine Circus has been hosted by both the Cincinnati Gardens and the Schumacher Center on UC's campus over the years, providing a more intimate and unique view into the American three-ring circus tradition that is rarely found today.

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The Cincinnati Gardens.
Ronny Salerno Ronny Salerno

The Cincinnati Gardens.

Opening in 1949, the arena which seated 11,000 patrons, became Cincinnati's premiere indoor venue. Modeled after Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, this area would go through history playing host to professional basketball, indoor soccer, concerts, Richard Nixon, Elvis, boxing, roller derby, monster trucks, and so much more. Perhaps though, the Gardens most interesting event history is rooted in Ice Hockey.

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