CINCINNATI — If you want to catch a Cincinnati Reds game without breaking the bank, Tuesday nights at Great American Ball Park may be your best bet.
The Reds' 3-2-1 Tuesday promotion offers $3 beers, $2 hot dogs, and $1 ice cream cups — turning what was once one of the slowest nights at the ballpark into a fan favorite.
To see just how much goes into making these Tuesday nights happen, I met up with Gary Davis, the executive chef at Great American Ballpark, to get a behind-the-scenes look at the prep work.
"If you look down here, these are where all these hot dogs will be, obviously you can see I've got a team working feverishly to get all these done here," Davis said.
The scale of the operation is staggering. Davis and his team prepare around 24,000 hot dogs for a single Tuesday night game.
Here's what a Tuesday night could cost your family
Davis broke down the math for a family of four attending a 3-2-1 Tuesday game:
- 4 view-level tickets at approximately $28 each = $112
- 4 hot dogs at $2 each = $8
- 4 ice cream cups at $1 each = $4
Total: approximately $128
"So it'll be like 128 bucks for the whole family to come out and obviously that doesn't include parking or gas or anything else," Davis said.
But that's still a significant savings compared to any other night of the week, when hot dogs run $6.99 each — making the Tuesday price roughly 70% off.
Ticket prices can stretch the savings even further. While checking prices for upcoming Tuesday games, I found some tickets as low as $19.
Watch Davis break down the different discount days below:
Don't forget: Family Discount Days
In addition to the 3-2-1 Tuesday food deals, fans can also take advantage of Family Discount Days, where families can purchase 3 tickets at half price with the purchase of one full-price ticket.
"I have a family of 4, and I wanted to come down here have some hot dogs, have some ice cream, I couldn't beat this deal," Davis said.
Here are the remaining Family Discount Days on the 2026 schedule:
- Monday, June 2
- Sunday, June 14
- Tuesday, July 7
- Sunday, July 30
- Wednesday, August 5
- Wednesday, September 2
- Sunday, September 6
Remaining 3-2-1 Tuesday night games in 2026
There are still 12 Tuesday night games left on the schedule this season. Here's the full list:
| Date | First Pitch | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, June 2 | 7:10 PM | Kansas City Royals |
| Tuesday, June 16 | 7:10 PM | New York Mets |
| Tuesday, June 23 | 7:10 PM | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Tuesday, July 7 | 7:10 PM | Philadelphia Phillies |
| Tuesday, July 28 | 7:10 PM | Cleveland Guardians |
| Tuesday, Aug. 4 | 6:40 PM | TBD |
| Tuesday, Aug. 18 | 6:40 PM | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Tuesday, Sept. 1 | 6:40 PM | San Diego Padres |
| Tuesday, Sept. 15 | 6:40 PM | TBD |
The next 3-2-1 Night is Tuesday, June 2, when the Reds host the Kansas City Royals with a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
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