BY LUCY MAY and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As Hamilton County and the Reds close in on a deal for a new riverfront ballpark, public education efforts on the so-called "Wedge" site are being stepped up.
Proponents of the riverfront site known as Baseball on Main or the Wedge will unveil new drawings today to bolster their argument that a new ballpark could fit nicely next to The Crown.
The drawing shows how a ballpark could look east of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge once Cinergy Field is demolished and how the riverfront could look with the Bengals' new stadium farther west and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center between them.
Baseball on Main advocates think the drawing published in today's Enquirer mirrors the talks between the county and team, said architect Michael Schuster, one of the site's chief advocates.
"We think this is it," Mr. Schuster said.
At the same time, Hamilton County officials are planning rare public discussions about the stadium project.
Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said he talks to Mr. Schuster from time to time, but the efforts of Baseball on Main advocates and the county have not been coordinated.
"They're talking about what has obviously been talked about very publicly," Mr. Bedinghaus said. "It looks pretty nice." Mr. Bedinghaus and Commissioner John Dowlin will meet Friday with representatives of the Kansas City-based HOK Sports Facilities Group and Huber, Hunt & Nichols, an Indianapolis financial consulting firm working with HOK. The firms will discuss with commissioners a tour of the Wedge site the consultants will take today.
Further public discussion of the ballpark negotiations is likely at the commissioners' regular meeting Wednesday, Mr. Bedinghaus said, which he and Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. plan to attend. Mr. Bedinghaus acknowledged such public discussion has been unusual during the stadium negotiations, which county officials have purposefully kept private.
But as the two sides close in on a deal, it becomes necessary to talk in public, he said.
Mr. Bedinghaus is a fan of a riverfront ballpark, while Mr. Dowlin favors a site at Broadway and Reading Road known as Broadway Commons. Mr. Neyer, the swing vote, is out of town and won't be at Friday's meeting. He has said if the county and Reds can reach agreement for a riverfront ballpark, he will vote for it.
For months, negotiators for the county and team have been talking exclusively about a riverfront ballpark, which the Reds insist the team needs for its long-term financial health.
The Wedge site is complex because it requires demolishing part of Cinergy Field's parking deck and seating bowl while the Reds continue to play there.
County officials don't expect HOK and Huber, Hunt & Nichols to tell them how much a riverfront ballpark would cost or how it could be built. But the site inspection is another chance for the consultants to offer general observations.
Reds Managing Executive John Allen said while there hasn't been an in-depth study of the site, he's been told a ballpark there can work.
"Preliminary indications are it's probably going to work," he said.
One of his major concerns is fan accessibility to Cinergy while part of the stadium is being demolished.
"Those are some of the questions that have to be answered," he said. "You have to think of the stadium once Cinergy is down, and it looks great with a perfect location."
Mr. Allen said a document has yet to be drawn up that the two sides can study and send to the lawyers. Major League Baseball lawyers also have to sign off on the deal.
The county wants the signature of Reds CEO and President Marge Schott, and Mr. Allen said she "has been kept up to speed" on the deal.
