Reds Handlebar Club

The Cincinnati Reds are Major League Baseball’s oldest professional team. So, we were ecstatic when they called us to design the seating for their latest Club space. The Handlebar Club at Great American Ball Park is an all-inclusive Club themed after the original mustachioed 1869 Red Stockings team.

In what became our greatest engineering assignment, we were asked to take a quick sketch and engineer multiple banks of seating that would sit in a partially covered outdoor area, include power and data outlets, and integrate tables into each seat…in hardwood. Oh… and in an 8 week timeline!

Finding the materials was initially a challenge. We decided to use Lyptus hardwood over a 25-year rated Extera MDF frame. Then, we applied a marine grade protective clear coat, used marine grade upholstery and foam, and all stainless hardware – including stainless steel kick plates with an etched Handlebar mustache logo. We even adorned each seat with custom printed baseball stitching for the pulled buttons as a final touch.

The result was nothing less than a transformed space for the Reds that is as popular and still looks as new today as when it was first installed.