Hamilton County voters see Issue 11 as more a pocketbook issue than a question of sports.

For more than a year, Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin has touted a spreadsheet showing a new ballpark at Broadway Commons would cost at least $62 million less than building on the riverfront.

Now Baseball on Main advocates have made their own pitch for why voters should ignore those claims and treat the sites as cost-neutral.

BROADWAY COMMONS		BASEBALL ON MAIN
The Broadway spreadsheet is based on a June 1997 analysis done for Hamilton County by Huber, Hunt & Nichols, an Indianapolis construction management firm that has since been hired to oversee construction of a new riverfront ballpark. That analysis showed a riverfront ballpark would cost anywhere from $28 million to $35 million more to build than a stadium at Broadway. The figures did not include land costs. Broadway backers contend that savings is underestimated because it assumes construction could start at the same time on each site. They argue Broadway could be started at least six months earlier, adding another $12 million in inflationary costs to the riverfront. Broadway figures also include parking costs, which they project to be about $39 million for the riverfront versus about $13 million at Broadway. That chalks up another $26 million in savings. Broadway backers also assume all the land needed for their site can be bought for $40 million. (Riverfront proponents say that figure could be low.) They argue that riverfront land is worth at least that much, making land costs a wash. The Broadway group adds $20 million in incentives that a Cincinnati City Council majority offered up for the Broadway site. In all, the Broadway group estimates $92 million in savings and uses the $62 million figure to be conservative.		Riverfront proponents argue that work at Broadway couldn't start any sooner than at the riverfront site, eliminating the added inflationary costs for the riverfront. Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus argues that the county would have to build more parking spaces at Broadway than at the riverfront. That brings the Broadway parking cost to about $16 million. Mr. Bedinghaus also argues the Broadway land could cost as much as $51.5 million, based on the price recently quoted to the county for the bulk of the site. He argues that while the riverfront land is valuable, it's valuable for park land. Donating the land for parks wouldn't bring in any money. Riverfront proponents don't count the city incentives because it's unclear whether a council majority still supports them. Once inflationary costs are added toestimated land costs and the additional parking costs for Broadway, the Broadway savings disappear.

CONTEXT: Until a stadium is designed, nobody knows exactly how much a new ballpark would cost at either site. The Huber, Hunt & Nichols estimates are the best available. Both campaigns make the numbers work for them.

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