''This is an option that needs to be explored,'' said former Ohio Senate President Stan Aronoff. ''I'm surprised it hasn't been explored more thoroughly lately. This is a political opportunity.''
Mr. Aronoff, who helped craft the county's stadium tax deal as Senate president, said the county and team could win with the familiar site and the potential savings to taxpayers.
''You're not going to retrofit and change Cinergy and have a twin of (Denver's) Coors Field,'' he said. ''When they get into the World Series, you could fill it and make a lot of money.''
He said it wasn't long ago that both the Reds and the Bengals talked publicly about the benefits of playing in a renovated Cinergy Field because of the stadium's prime location.
Turfway Park Race Course owner Jerry Carroll, a friend of Mrs. Schott's, said a renovation of Cinergy could transform the place and would be a much better deal than building two stadiums.
''Marge is finally to the point where she's just tired of it,'' he said. ''I think it's a very generous situation on her part if she follows it through.''
Many unanswered questions remain about what a renovated Cinergy would look like, how much it would cost, how long the project would take and whether the Reds would have to play somewhere else while it was being done. Mrs. Schott has offered only a general vision.
''Maybe we can make something exciting for the fans. It's got to appear like a new stadium. It's got to be different so people can tell it's new, with grass and everything else,'' she told the Enquirer. But the team and county have seen a proposal on a Cinergy overhaul.
HOK Sport Inc. of Kansas City presented a $150 million renovation plan to the Reds' negotiating team in February. The club was lukewarm because for just $100 million more, the Reds could get a new stadium. Among the elements of the renovation would be a new facade, expanding the concourses, knocking out center field, redoing the current luxury boxes and adding more of them.
Most of the construction would have to begin after the Bengals go to their new football stadium in 2000. The Bengals' Cinergy Field lease gives the NFL team the right to approve any structural changes. ''We would want to protect the interests of our fans and the football team,'' said Bengals President and General Manager Mike Brown. Major League Baseball (MLB) officials have insisted John Allen is in charge of stadium negotiations for the team, but the county isn't dismissing the remarks of the suspended CEO.
''Clearly, she is one of the vested parties with the Reds,'' Hamilton County Commissioner Tom Neyer Jr. said Monday.
County officials avoided direct response Monday to Mrs. Schott's comments, but those monitoring the discussions say her statement could signal a dramatic turn in the stadium debate.
For months, the team has sent financial proposals to the county that demand a new, state-of-the-art, $230 million stadium on the riverfront. Mrs. Schott's comments Sunday about a renovated Cinergy stake out a drastically different public position for the team. A source close to the stadium negotiations said Mr. Allen also has been exploring the renovation option more closely over the past month, but it has not gone beyond preliminary discussions and there has been no definitive research.
''Marge and John are on the same page on this one,'' the source said.
Mr. Allen had no comment Monday, but those close to him indicated he was surprised by Mrs. Schott's statements, her first public comment on the issue in months.
It was Mr. Allen, in fact, who announced last month that the team would consider other stadium deals in Greater Cincinnati because the team wasn't getting anywhere with Hamilton County
Mrs. Schott was reportedly miffed by Mr. Allen's handling of the negotiations.
The source close to the negotiations said MLB is concerned a renovated Cinergy might not generate enough revenue to sustain the Reds' franchise. The source also said MLB has questions about the county's having enough money to build two stadiums.
''That's the logical conclusion,'' the source said. ''You wouldn't go for a renovation if you had enough money for a new one. But if the county and the team both think renovation is the way to go, Baseball won't stand in the way.''
The other county commissioners were uncharacteristically quiet about Mrs. Schott's latest comments. Officials continue to consider three baseball options: a renovated Cinergy, a new stadium at Broadway and Reading Road, and a new stadium on the riverfront between Cinergy and The Crown.
An extensive renovation isn't unprecedented. The Anaheim Angels began a $100 million renovation a year ago that should be finished by April 1.
''The $100 million beats the alternative of $250 to $350 (million) for a new park,'' said Bill Robertson, director of communications for Anaheim Sports Inc.
Mrs. Schott has said a renovation could mean substantial savings for Hamilton County taxpayers.
A renovated Cinergy also could mean savings for the Reds, who have been asked to contribute upward of $50 million toward construction of a new stadium.
Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls said the baseball stadium should be placed in the context of the riverfront master plan being drafted by Urban Design Associates, the Pittsburgh planners hired by the city and county.
''Obviously, I still prefer Broadway Commons. But if not Broadway Commons, a renovated Cinergy Field is a better deal for the taxpayers,'' she said.
Some proponents of a new ballpark at either Broadway Commons or the riverfront are disappointed.
Restaurant owner Jim Tarbell, the city's most vocal advocate for baseball at Broadway Commons, said the committee pushing the Broadway cause will file suit if the commissioners try to renovate Cinergy instead of building a new park for the Reds.
''It has absolutely nothing to do with what we voted for,'' he said, referring to the March 1996 campaign when voters approved a half-cent-on-a-dollar increase in the county sales tax to build stadiums.
Mrs. Schott's comments have Major League Baseball again examining her conduct and could have been in violation of her suspension. She is allowed to have input on such long-term issues as the stadium, but she must first seek permission from MLB before giving interviews. It was unclear whether Mrs. Schott got permission to speak on a renovated Cinergy.
Laura Goldberg contributed to this report.
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