County and team negotiators appear to be closing in on a deal without the extra information, meetings or studies.
Mr. Allen said Monday he's ''cautiously optimistic'' about the team's talks with the county.
''We are making progress,'' he said. ''It would be nice if we got something in the next 30 days. But there's no deadline.''
The Reds have said repeatedly that the team does not want a ballpark at Broadway. Reds CEO Marge Schott has expressed concern about access, proximity to the county jail, and crime.
Ever vigilant in their belief that Broadway offers the best future for the Reds and Cincinnati, Broadway backers paid for the trip by Karle Seydel, who helped conceive the location of Coors Field.
After studying the area and site options over three days, Mr. Seydel endorsed Broadway, saying it could bring the Reds the same success the Colorado Rockies have had in Lower Downtown Denver.
''People like to come to a civic facility that reflects their heritage and their history,'' Mr. Seydel said at a Monday meeting. ''That's what can be done in Over-the-Rhine,'' the downtown historic neighborhood that borders the Broadway site.
But the negotiations between the county and team center on the Wedge site, so named because the new ballpark would be wedged between The Crown and the current Cinergy Field site.
Even Commissioner John Dowlin, Broadway's only fervent backer on the three-man board of county commissioners, said last week he fears Broadway's flame is growing dimmer.
But Broadway booster Jim Tarbell, a downtown restaurant owner who has promoted the site for six years, said if Broadway's endorsements don't sway the team, the process of elimination will.
For months, the Reds appeared to be focused on a deal that would transform Cinergy Field rather than building a new ballpark. In recent weeks, however, talks have shifted back to the Wedge site.
The Wedge, Mr. Tarbell argues, will collapse once county and team leaders realize it won't work.
''It simply can't work,'' he said of the Wedge.
But Michael Schuster, a downtown architect and proponent of Baseball on Main, recently completed a five-
week architectural study of the site and concluded it can work.
Neither he nor John Schneider, a downtown property owner and the site's other chief proponent, will release the study because they worry that could interfere with the county and team's negotiations.
But Mr. Schneider said the study shows the Wedge ballpark can be built while the Reds continue to play at Cinergy Field.
''If the Reds want to do it, and the county wants to do it, it can be done,'' Mr. Schneider said. ''There's probably an easier place to build a ballpark, but we think this is the best place.''
During construction, as many as 6,500 of Cinergy's seats would have to be removed, and about a quarter of the stadium's parking spaces would have to be torn down, Mr. Schneider said. The field wouldn't be disrupted, but access to Cinergy from the east would be.
Lisa Donovan contributed to this report.
