I thought the experts from Pittsburgh would unpack their briefcases, pound a wooden stake through the
heart of Broadway Commons and declare it dead.
They would report: ''This site is geographically, geologically, geometrically and geopolitically unsuitable -
a Bermuda Triangle for pro sports. Put a stadium here and the Reds will vanish like Jimmy Hoffa on
Russian rocket to Mars.''
Everyone would shake their heads and walk away. Back to the riverfront.
Tag me out, I was way off base.
Instead, after the first tire-kicking test drive, Broadway Commons lives. It's not doing high-fives, but it's
not in critical care, either. And that's semi-amazing.
We might actually spend public money on a public project - with public support.
It must be a mistake. Those experts from Pittsburgh just don't know how things work in Cincinnati. The
rule here is that the biggest decisions get made by the fewest people, because spending public money is a lot
easier without public meddling.
At first, the Aronoff Center flopped like Madonna playing Snow White. The public voted against it, but it
was built anyhow.
Same story for the new home of Lazarus on Fountain Place: ''Citizens protest; bailout approved.''
Now the site is sprouting I-beams and concrete like an Erector-set garden.
It turns out both were absolutely right decisions. But Cincinnati has an annoying habit of approving
projects before asking taxpayers. ''Public participation'' means dollars, not discussion.
So this time, I expected the usual charade of hearings - followed by a decision made privately months
before: Both stadiums on the riverfront because the team owners said so.
Sure enough, word leaked out that Reds owner Marge Schott was playing the same trump card Bengals
owner Mike Brown used to win $540 million in sales taxes for two new stadiums. She warned the
consultants to put her ballpark on the river or she would move the Reds to Northern Kentucky or
Indianapolis. The Cincinnati Business Committee's (CBC) former director, Ron Roberts, even appeared in
the background scenery, suited up for the Reds. It looked like the deal was wired to bypass taxpayers.
But this time, the threats fizzled. Broadway is hanging on, with no visible support from the business
bosses - unless you count bar owner Jim Tarbell, whose crusade has kept it alive.
Maybe that's because the Reds' lease keeps them in Cincinnati until year 2010. If they don't like the
chosen site, they can stay in the Riverfront ashtray.
Maybe it's because nobody believes other baseball owners would give Mrs. Schott take-off clearance to
fly across the Ohio River, just because her new stadium is not exactly where she wants it.
Maybe it's because the CBC has been MIA since its strong-mayor Charter reform was shot down by
voters, and Mr. Roberts was gently retired.
Maybe it's because all the arm-twisting to build new stadiums left voters so sore they would rather build a
ballpark on Mount Rumpke than let the owners dictate location.
Maybe it's because Northern Kentucky's version of ''regionalism'' requires both stadiums to stay right next
door on the riverfront - as long as Northern Kentucky doesn't have to collect any regionalism taxes to build
them.
Maybe it's because people can't believe two stadiums on the river will magically create Disneyland
development on the same sterile acres of asphalt that stayed barren around Riverfront.
Maybe it's because a home-plate view of Mount Adams looks a lot more appealing than empty sky over a
river nobody can see anyway.
Maybe it's because of something called economic justice: If we're going to spend $500 million to
guarantee generous profits for two sports owners and their wealthy players, it's only fair to use half to
improve downtown's poorest neighborhood, where people who are struggling to make ends meet (and pay
their sales taxes) need jobs.
Maybe it's because betting all our entertainment chips on the riverfront could slowly bleed downtown to
death, especially Main Street, which has somehow managed to revive and thrive without government
handouts.
Maybe it's because Broadway Commons makes sense. County Commissioner John Dowlin thinks so. He
says he has to be convinced why it can't be done.
Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls is more cautious: ''I was really enthusiastic about Broadway Commons,
and I am still, but right now I'm waiting for an analysis of economic impact ... My bottom line is that if
we're going to invest a half-billion dollars in public money, we had better see results beyond the internal
(team) benefits. We have to make this something that benefits the entire community.''
I'm no expert, but it doesn't take Russian rocket science to see that the entire community includes
Broadway along with the riverfront.
Peter Bronson is editorial page editor of The Enquirer. If you have questions or comments, call 768-
8301, or write to 312 Elm Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.
Published Nov. 24, 1996.
