During the 2012 Opening Day festivities, Cincinnati Reds’ CEO Bob Castellini spoke confidently that Cincinnati would be host to an All-Star game.

There hasn’t been any news on that front since then, so Enquirer reporter John Fay asked for an update.

“I wish I had something to announce,” [Phil Castellini] said. “The National League gets it every other year. We’ve applied for ’15, ’17, ’19. It’s one of those hurry-up-and-wait things.”

Great American Ball Park opened in 2003, so after 10 seasons, it can no longer be considered a new stadium. During the rash of new stadiums over the last decade and a half, securing a new stadium has seemed to always come with a chance to host the All-Star game. But not so for the Reds, for some reason.

Since [2003], U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Minute Maid Park in Houston, Comerica Park in Detroit, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Yankee Stadium in New York, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., and Chase Field in Phoenix have hosted the game.

The St. Louis Cardinals have already hosted in their new stadium, and they opened after Great American. I’m not sure what gives, but it does seem like the Reds are being slighted. Hopefully, the news will be announced that they’ll be hosting in one of the years they applied for. At this point, it’s long overdue.

Friday, May 11, 2012 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals, 7:10 p.m.

• Fireworks Friday: Postgame fireworks featuring a “Girls Night Out” soundtrack, presented by Furniture Fair. (Fireworks begin 15 minutes after game ends)
• Girls Night Out: Pregame activities in the Fan Zone include a chocolate dipping station, free massages by Massage Envy, free jewelry cleaning by Richter & Phillips and more. Presented by Biz & Oxydol.
• Reds Tote Bag: Free Reds tote bag to the first 10,000 ladies.
• Free Agent Friday: Start your weekend with happy hour drink specials, DJ Sab and more in the Fan Zone starting when gates open at 5:40 p.m. Free Agent Fridays are presented by The Banks Bar Association.
• Reds Tweet Up: Over 400 fans of the Reds on Twitter will be enjoying the game from the Mezzanine. Follow @Reds on Twitter and join the conversation at #RedsTweetUp.
• Flying Pig Night: Pregame ceremonies will honor the participants of the 14th Flying Pig Marathon. Female winner Rachel Bea of Kenwood will throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
• Univ. of Cincinnati Night: Over 800 University of Cincinnati students, faculty, staff and alumni will be in attendance. Dr. Gregory Sojka, UC Clermont College Dean, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

Saturday, May 12, 2012 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals, 7:10 p.m.

• Votto Bobblehead: Bobblehead commemorating Joey Votto’s first Rawlings Gold Glove Award free to the first 25,000 fans, presented by The Ohio Lottery.
• Jay Bruce at Kroger Newport: Jay Bruce will sign autographs from Noon to 1 p.m. for the first 300 fans in line at the Kroger Marketplace in Newport, Ky. (Autographs only, no photos.)
• World famous blogger (as indicated by the amount of non-English email she receives) Amanda from Red Hot Mama will be in attendance in the Champion’s Club.

Sunday, May 13, 2012 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals, 1:10 p.m.

• Jay Bruce Cereal Bowl: Jay Bruce cereal bowl and spoon set free to the first 8,000 kids 14 and younger, presented by New York Life.
• Meijer Family Days: Sundays are family days at the ballpark. One member of the family pays full price and may purchase up to three non-premium tickets at half-price in advance of game day only. Excludes Outer View Level and Kroger Bleachers.
• Happy Mothers Day: First 200 moms plus one guest can participate in a special pregame Mother’s Day parade. Fans interested in participating should arrive early and check in at the Fan Zone.
• First pitch: Shirley Larkin, mother of Barry Larkin, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch.
• MLB Breast Cancer Awareness Day: Tina Amrhein from Brookville, Indiana, will be the Honorary Captain of the game. Tina is the Reds winner of MLB’s 2012 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a campaign to recognize fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrated a commitment to fighting the disease. Tina and her family are guests of the Reds at today’s game.
• Bruce’s Battalion: Jay Bruce is carrying on the tradition of honoring local military families with the Bruce’s Battalion ticket program. At each Sunday home game Jay sponsors a group in the Sun Deck and each guest gets a ticket to the game, a custom camouflage Reds cap and concessions vouchers. Families interested in participating can contact: bruce@reds.com
• Live Mascot Race: Reds mascots Mr. Redlegs, Rosie Red, Mr. Red and Gapper will participate in a live mascot race during the middle of the fifth inning.

Other Highlights:

• George Foster Bobblehead at the Reds HOF: The 2012 Big Red Machine bobblehead series, presented by Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, continues in May with the release of the George Foster bobblehead…free with full-price paid admission to the Reds Hall of Fame & Museum on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in May while supplies last.
• Reds Camps: Sign up now for the official Reds baseball and softball summer camps, presented by Safeco Insurance. Locations include Cincinnati, Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville and Columbus. Each camp features 30 hours of instruction and campers are given a full Reds uniform, trip to GABP and four Reds tickets. More info at reds.com/camps.
• Kroger Meal Deal: $8 Kroger Meal Deal: Hot dog, 16 oz. Coke product, bag of chips and Diamond Foods Kettle Chips.
• Mr. Red’s Smokehouse: The featured menu items at Mr. Red’s Smokehouse this homestand is a Presidential Burger.

In a minor Cincinnati Reds historical item, The Hardball Times notes that it was 10,000 days ago today that Marge Schott became the majority owner of the Reds.

It was a tumultuous and, ultimately, mostly embarrassing time in the Reds’ history. Yes, they won the 1990 World Series, but that may have been despite Schott, given her reluctance to hire scouts and black players.

What’s interesting, is that Schott was initially a fairly popular owner. She’d make herself publicly visible during games and talk to fans. She kept the concessions prices low, and even kept the seat prices as low as she could. She always loved children and throughout her entire adult life was very active in charity foundations for children.

Mainly, I see a large streak of provincialism here; a streak many others share but those who are so provincial rarely have as much public stature of money that Schott had. Or if they are, they’re not so vocal about it.

Thankfully, those days of controversy where the team’s owner took up more headlines than the actual team are in the past. And it’s taken a while, but the Reds’ have rebuilt their scouting department into one that is supplying some mighty fine major league talent. The team has definitely come a long way since the ’80s.