Castellini: Cincy one of best All-Star hosts ever

Cincinnati outdid itself for baseball's All-Star week, the Cincinnati Reds top operating officer said Wednesday, adding that he was told by several top major league officials and players that Cincinnati was one of the best hosts in the history of the event.

"This city was on fire for a week-long event and the buildup," Reds chief operating officer Phil Castellini said at a press conference in front of Great American Ball Park. "We got everything out of this that we could have as a community.

"This literally has been years in the planning ... and it was just awesome. We couldn't be more pleased with the way it turned out."

Total attendance for the three days at Great American Ball Park was 130,904, Reds officials announced. That's the second-highest three-day total, coming only behind the three playoff games hosted by the Reds in the National League Divisional Series in 2012. That included 43,656 for the All-Star Game itself.

Castellini said that while most of the actual game and TV revenue from the event went to Major League Baseball, the local club saw a spike in season ticket sales beforehand to boost local profits (although he did not get specific). As to what will happen to the struggling club in the second half of the season, Castellini deferred to the baseball operations side led by general manager Walt Jocketty. The Reds are expected to trade at least their top pitcher Johnny Cueto, and are trying to get back above .500, with the playoffs a distant possibility.

"All I can speak to is off the field, and being in charge of the business side of this business, we are 100 percent focused on fan experience," Castellini said. "So what we need to do is continue that momentum with the fan experience, engaging with our season ticket holders and everybody who comes to Great American Ball Park.

"On the baseball side, those guys are going to do what they need to do," Castellini said. "This is a cyclical business. On the baseball side, there a things that will be and need to be done. But we're going to continue to dump whatever we can into this franchise to make it the best it can be."

All told, the event generated $70 million in local economic benefit, Castellini said. In addition, $8 million was raised for different charities and local park projects through Major League Baseball and sponsors such as Procter & Gamble.

Aside from the dramatic Home Run Derby Monday night won by Reds third baseman Todd Frazier in comeback fashion, Castellini said his favorite event was Saturday's color run, which brought in more than 15,000 participants.

"That's the most ever in the state of Ohio, and we're looking for more next year," he said.

When it came to the weather, Castellini said that "God shined on Cincinnati this week, even if he reminded us who's in charge, and we were able to do it all," referring to the frequent thunderstorms that miraculously ceased during game times.

"We planned for the worse and hoped for the best ... we had all kinds of contingency plans for cancelling or consolidating some things," Castellini said. "Thank goodness we never had to do that."

Castellini added that the Reds stand ready to host another All-Star Game, even if that won't happen for perhaps another 20 years realistically.

A few other nuggets that came out of the press conference included: