BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Timelines and delays will be discussed when the Reds and Hamilton County sit down at the negotiating table again, as early as next week, say sources familiar with the talks.

The sources say one thing to be discussed is what compensation the baseball club will receive if it can't get into a new ballpark by 2002.

The Reds and county are also looking into what kind of financial consideration could be given for the team for lost revenue for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

In their lease, the Bengals are guaranteed $4 million per game missed if the stadium isn't opened by the start of the 2000 NFL season. That can't be compared to a baseball deal because the Reds have 81 home games, the Bengals 10.

The 2002 date is critical because there is so much uncertainty about the feasibility of the site under consideration, Baseball on Main, between Cinergy Field and Riverfront Coliseum.

The Reds are concerned about logistics of Baseball on Main construction, particularly the unknown timeline of a Fort Washington Way reconstruction and the impact of building at the original Cinergy Field and parking garage while they are still playing there.

But for all its questions, Baseball on Main, otherwise known as "the Wedge," appears to be the prime site. Earlier this week, sources told The Enquirer that the other site, Broadway Commons, has barely been discussed in recent negotiations and that a two-part memorandum of understanding was discussed involving the Wedge. The first part is an engineering and architectural site survey that the Reds must approve before the second part of the memorandum is executed.

Evidence that the Reds are looking at some parts of the Bengals' deal surfaced in documents obtained by The Enquirer earlier this week. In a March1997 proposal, the Reds offered sales goals as the Bengals did in their memorandum.

The club proposed if it could not sell: 80 percent of 50 luxury suites for 10 years, 80 percent of 3,000 club seats by Opening Day 2000, or 20,000 season tickets by Aug. 31, 1997, it could walk away from the deal.

The Aug. 31 deadline became moot when a deal wasn't reached in March.

REDS PAGE

Previous stadium stories

REDS SAY THEY NEED GOOD STADIUM DEAL TO COMPETE July 4, 1997
CITY, COUNTY FEUD OVER CONSULTANT July 4, 1997
REDS ASKED FOR $235M STADIUM July 3, 1997
'WEDGE' FOES DEMAND STADIUM STUDY July 2, 1997
'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