BY LUCY MAY
and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Proponents of the baseball stadium at Broadway Commons are demanding an in-depth study of their location's main competition - a riverfront site that detractors call "The Wedge."

Sources say Broadway Commons has barely been mentioned in negotiations, which are focusing on the uncertainty and complexity of Baseball on Main, between Riverfront Coliseum and Cinergy Field.

"We are demanding that this (study) be done and that it be done immediately," said Jim Tarbell, a restaurant owner and Baseball on Broadway spokesman.

But Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus said the county has enough information on both sites and will seek further studies once the county and team have an agreement.

Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune, a fan of Broadway, said he will ask today that council get its own analysis of Broadway vs. the riverfront.

Mr. Tarbell also announced at a Fountain Square news conference that he and other Broadway believers will make the stadium an issue in city council races, campaigning for candidates who endorse the site and against those who do not.

Fans of Broadway Commons, at Broadway and Reading Road, have grown frustrated in part because Hamilton County officials leading stadium negotiations seem to be considering only the riverfront site, Mr. Tarbell said.

Mr. Bedinghaus strongly denied that notion Tuesday.

Sources say a preliminary agreement would consist of two phases. The first would put the Wedge to the Reds' architectural and engineering tests. The second would kick in if the site passes the team's scrutiny. The club's concerns center on parking while a new stadium is built and the construction challenge of demolishing part of Cinergy Field to build the new stadium, sources say.

Another major question the Reds have is whether the uncertainty of the reconfiguration of Fort Washington Way would delay a riverfront ballpark.

Mr. Bedinghaus wouldn't comment on negotiations Tuesday. But he said a Baseball on Main ballpark would bring faster and more concrete commitments from the state to help pay for the $120 million Fort Washington Way project.

REDS PAGE

Previous stories

'WEDGE' TO BE PUT TO THE TEST July 1, 1997
REDS UNMOVED BY PRICE GAP June 20, 1997
DOWLIN SAYS BROADWAY CAN SAVE $62 MILLION June 19, 1997
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

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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

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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