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Celebrating 70 Year Anniversary of Opening of Cincinnati Gardens
Gardens Opened in 1949
The Cincinnati Gardens opened February 22, 1949; the first event was a hockey exhibition game – the Dallas Texans (whose nucleus would form the new Cincinnati Mohawks of the American Hockey League) versus its parent club, the National Hockey League’s Montreal Canadiens, which featured Hall of Fame right wing Maurice “The Rocket” Richard.
The first week of events at Cincinnati’s newest sports and entertainment center was staggering: following the exhibition hockey game was a U.C. vs. Butler basketball game, a Xavier vs. Kentucky basketball 
game, and a heavyweight boxing match between Cincinnatian Ezzard Charles and Cleveland’s Joey Maxim (Charles won in 15 rounds to become the #1 contender to Joe Louis’ title).
Since that flashy beginning, the Gardens hosted an exalted array of diverse events, including major-and-minor league sports, rock concerts, comedians, symphony orchestras, broadway-style musicals, political rallies, rodeos, roller derby, tractor pulls, circuses, ice follies, dog shows, dirt track auto racing, auto and baseball card shows and more.
Thanks For The Memories
STATEMENT FROM THE CINCINNATI GARDENS ON THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY TO THE PORT OF GREATER CINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority has closed on its purchase of The Cincinnati Gardens -- the 67-year-old entertainment and sports venue -- from Cincinnati Gardens, LLC.
Since 1979, The Cincinnati Gardens, led by the Robinson family along with a talented and dedicated staff, has proudly and successfully operated the facility and brought about its renaissance as a purposeful sports and entertainment venue in the Greater Cincinnati region.
During that span, Xavier University basketball (1983-2000) celebrated some of its most exciting and successful seasons to date and professional hockey returned to the city with the Cincinnati Cyclones (1990-1997) followed by the AHL Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (1997-2005).
Other long running events included circuses -- most notably the Syrian Shrine Circus -- hundreds of concerts of all music genres, monster truck shows, pro wrestling, boxing, rodeos and bull riding, indoor football, indoor soccer, and high school hockey.
The final professional team to call The Cincinnati Gardens home was the Cincinnati Rollergirls (2007-2016). The Rollergirls’ game on June 11, 2016, will go down as the final event in the history of The Cincinnati Gardens.
“We announce with very mixed emotions that The Cincinnati Gardens has been sold. We wish the new owners, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, nothing but the best. We are eternally grateful and thankful to all who have been a part of our chapter of The Gardens history and lore. On behalf of our family and our great employees, it has been a privilege and honor to serve as the curator of such a historic and fabled Cincinnati landmark.
We are profoundly grateful to the many teams and performers who entertained us and to all of the fans who have been our guests -- not just since 1979 -- but during the entire, glorious, 67-year history of The Cincinnati Gardens. Thank you for all the great memories.”
Pete Robinson, President & CEO
The Cincinnati Gardens
July 21, 2016
This will be the only statement issued by our company at this time. Please respect the privacy and sensitivity of this matter. We will provide additional opportunities in the coming weeks to discuss the historical impact of The Cincinnati Gardens.
