The Banks resumes age restrictions after Opening Day chaos, fights

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Age restrictions and curfews are reinstated weekend nights at The Banks entertainment district in downtown Cincinnati after chaotic crowds and fights on Reds Opening Day.

The age restriction of 21-and-up is effective Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Security checkpoints will be at the public plaza area of The Banks on Freedom Way, from Marian Spencer Way/Walnut Street to Joe Nuxhall Way.

This mirrors procedures implemented last summer to curtail night violence.

Officials, however, announced there would be no curfew for Opening Day on March 26 to accommodate the high volume of fans, but the evening ended in chaos.

Cincinnati police were forced to shut down the district early, around 8:30 p.m., due to large, "unruly" crowds and reports of fights involving juveniles.

Other fights broke out at Washington Park and on Fountain Square.

On the other side of the Ohio River in Covington, police blocked off their end of the Roebling Suspension Bridge for about two hours, confirmed Captain Justin Bradbury.

"Because of the volatility of everything going on in Cincinnati, we blocked the bridge to ensure the safety of those who may have ventured into Cincinnati, unaware of what was going on," Captain Bradbury said last month.

Covington police also blocked traffic from coming over from Cincinnati "to contain the disorder from coming into Covington," he said.