BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Marge Schott and the Reds have a big weapon in their negotiations with the county for a riverfront stadium site: They enjoy a unique place in the community.

''I would think that's good enough,'' said Reds Managing Executive John Allen. ''The Reds are the Reds. A great franchise, the first franchise with its great strength, the fans.''

John Williams, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cincinnati, agreed that the team has a unique strength.

''Obviously, the Reds are one of our greatest attractions and we've got to work to find ways to accommodate them. What (Mrs. Schott's) got going for her is the warm feeling about this team.''

The Reds also have what other teams have to fight for - a guaranteed revenue stream for a new facility, courtesy of an overwhelming vote for a sales tax increase to build new stadiums for the Reds and the Bengals.

As one envious baseball owner said, ''I'd like to have her leverage. That's what I'd call a stadium financial package in place.''

But the Reds' leverage for dictating a site is also limited.

A threat to move in baseball lacks bite. A team hasn't moved in a generation. This is the era of NFL movement.

''With Cincinnati as the original and longtime successful first franchise, it's a team that the owners would probably be unsympathetic about approving to move out of town, particularly that the funding has already been approved by the voters,'' said John Helyar, who invaded the top-secret world of baseball magnates in his 1994 book Lords of the Realm.

''Plus, as a suspended owner, Mrs. Schott doesn't have many chips to call in,'' Mr. Helyar said. ''. . . She simply doesn't have the flexibility the Bengals had.''

But that could change at some point.

Baseball has entered the age of revenue-sharing, in which the owners have a stake in every team. That might make them mull relocation if a team could prove it couldn't get a solid deal.

''One of these (other baseball) deals is going to get underestimated and someone's going to move,'' said the baseball owner, who asked to remain unidentified.

''. . . Even though the tax is in place in Cincinnati, if (the Reds) don't get the right site for economics, it's hard to advise the 26th franchise out of 28 teams to accept a deal. They need every advantage in every way.''

Nonetheless, when the Reds made noise a few months ago about leaving for Northern Kentucky or even Indianapolis if they didn't get a spot on the riverfront, they did not get any support.

Compare that to Mike Brown and his threats to leave if he didn't get a new stadium.

He first warned of a move Nov. 4, 1993. More than 1,000 days later, four NFL teams have secured approval from league owners to relocate because of a threat of a lawsuit.

The Bengals got to the riverfront first.

With the Bengals' threat to move to Baltimore, and then to Cleveland, coinciding with anarchy in the Reds' front office last summer, local officials dealt with the Bengals first.

They took a spot between Central Avenue and Elm Street; the remaining chunk of land west of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge has been declared off-limits by city and county leaders.

That's the site the Reds prefer, but public officials want to keep it open for other development.

The Reds have a lease to play in Cinergy Field until 2010.

The Bengals renegotiated a lease with the city in 1993 that said a new stadium would be built in time for the 2000 football season, or they can leave.

The Reds say that new deal for the Bengals makes them free agents because it broke the original lease. But the team hasn't pursued the legal option, and executives prefer to negotiate.

FINDING A PLACE TO PLAY
NEIGHBORHOOD A BIG PART OF BALLPARK
BALLPARK, FANS' HONEYMOON SHORT
KENTUCKY DESERVES REDS, TOO
BORGMAN CARTOON

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