BY LUCY MAY
and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Building a baseball stadium on the riverfront site known as "The Wedge" could cost as much as $62 million more than at Broadway Commons, primarily because it would have to be built later, Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin said Wednesday.
Mr. Dowlin, a proponent of the Broadway Commons site, argues it will take two years longer - at a minimum - to build a ballpark between Riverfront Coliseum and Cinergy Field, because the reconstruction of Fort Washington Way would have to be completed first.
Such a delay, he said, would add a 4 percent annual inflationary factor to numbers generated by consultants who assumed a stadium on either site could be built at the same time.
But even if a ballpark could be completed at the same time at either site, the riverfront site would cost between $28 million and $36 million more to build, according to figures Mr. Dowlin provided to The Enquirer.
The consultants' figures - without being adjusted for inflation - show that a ballpark on the riverfront would cost $308 million to $323 million. The inflationary figures applied by Mr. Dowlin bring that total to between $332 million and $350 million.
A ballpark at Broadway Commons would cost $279 million to $288 million, according to the figures. Mr. Dowlin did not apply inflationary figures to those costs because, he argues, a ballpark could be built on the site almost immediately.
Those figures include a 45,000-seat stadium, parking, pedestrian plazas, infrastructure such as roads and the relocation of utilities, partial demolition of Cinergy Field for the riverfront site, and "soft costs," such as fees for consultants, design work, insurance, testing and a contingency fund.
However, the figures do not include the cost of land acquisition. County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus, the county's point man on stadium issues, argued that adding $20 million to $30 million for land costs at the Broadway Commons site makes the starting costs about equal.
But Mr. Dowlin said the riverfront land, which the county already owns, has a value, too. He suggested the county could sell that land and make up the difference.
Said Mr. Bedinghaus: "I don't see people standing in line to buy riverfront land right now."
Mr. Bedinghaus conceded it's fair to apply an inflationary factor to other riverfront costs, because it would take longer to build a ballpark at the river than at Broadway. He stressed, however, that he had not seen Mr. Dowlin's figures and had not studied the consultants' conclusions, either.
The riverfront site has been termed a construction challenge because part of Cinergy Field would have to be torn down while the Reds still play there. Proponents of the riverfront site call it Baseball on Main because its entrance would ultimately open onto Main Street.
The Broadway Commons site, at Broadway and Reading Road, is now filled mostly with surface parking.
Mr. Dowlin released the figures as part of his latest push for Broadway Commons.
Regardless of the cost difference, the Reds have always insisted that the team's new home belongs on the river. The club argues that the Reds draw fans from across the region and that the riverfront has proven to be a successful location for the team.
Mr. Dowlin said public opinion should be a factor in the decision. Mr. Bedinghaus and Tom Neyer, the third county commissioner, have never publicly stated a preference for either site.
REDS PAGE
Previous stories
BALLPARK ESTIMATE: $230 MILLION June 11, 1997
RIVERFRONT SITE BETTER BET June 6, 1997
BROADWAY, 'WEDGE' ONLY OPTIONS LEFT? June 4, 1997
REDS RELENT ON WEST SITE June 3, 1997
NOTHING WILL DISLODGE REDS FROM RIVERFRONT Tim Sullivan column, June 3, 1997
REDS TO KENTUCKY? WHISPERS PERSIST May 31, 1997
NO DEAL WITH REDS SEEN BY JUNE 1 May 23, 1997
REDS EASE STANCE ON 'WEDGE' May 16, 1997
REDS MIGHT HAVE TO WAITMay 5, 1997
COSTS GOING UPMay 5, 1997
SCHOTT SAYS 'NO WAY' TO WEDGE April 12, 1997
SULLIVAN COLUMN April 12, 1997
CITY COULD PAY TO DELAY STADIUM April 10, 1997
BENGALS LEERY OF 'WEDGE' April 9, 1997
THE GREAT STADIUM DEBATE
BALLPARK DEBATE LINGERS ON April 6, 1997
NEIGHBORHOOD A BIG PART OF BALLPARK April 6, 1997
BALLPARK, FANS' HONEYMOON SHORT April 6, 1997
REDS HAVE HURDLES, HELP IN SITE HUNT April 6, 1997
KENTUCKY DESERVES REDS, TOOApril 6, 1997
BORGMAN CARTOON
April 6, 1997
REDS PLAN SEAT LICENSING March 14, 1997
REDS TOLD BENGALS NOT PICKING SITE March 12, 1997
MAYOR SUPPORTS BROADWAY March 5, 1997
DESPITE FLOOD, REDS DON'T WAVER FROM RIVER March 5, 1997
BASEBALL ON MAIN PROPOSED Feb. 26, 1997
WEDGE SITE GETS BOOST FROM COUNTY Feb. 22, 1997
REDS, COUNTY RESUME STADIUM TALKS Feb. 19, 1997
ONLY CRIME IS NOT CONSIDERING BROADWAY Feb. 18, 1997
RIVER SITE OR LAWSUIT Feb. 15, 1997
REDS ARE READY TO PLAY HARDBALL Feb. 15, 1997
SCHOTT THREATENS TO MOVE IF REDS AREN'T ON RIVER Feb. 14, 1997
