BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Broadway Commons campaign's music-blaring Bandwagon went to high school football games Friday night.
The pro-riverfront Move Greater Cincinnati Forward campaign planned to distribute literature at today's sold-out Bengals game.
Maybe it's fitting that the 3-year-old Reds stadium debate is playing out what could be its final days at sporting events around Hamilton County.
Both campaigns are working feverishly to win over voters before they mark their ballots on Issue 11, which would create a county charter requiring any new Reds ballpark be built at Broadway and Reading Road.
Hamilton County and the Reds already have a deal to build a ballpark next to the Crown at the riverfront site known as Baseball on Main or the "Wedge."
Broadway backers are urging a "yes" vote, while the riverfront group urges "no."
Over the past six weeks, there have been more than 20 debates on the issue in the community. (There were three debates this past Tuesday night alone.)
At the Broadway campaign office, the pace is crazy, said Melisa Rottinghaus, Broadway campaign coordinator.
"The morale is at an all-time high, and everyone is very focused on winning," she said. "And all of the talk of strategy and big ideas -- and we've had a lot of them -- has been pushed aside to win."
The pro-riverfront campaign is concentrating on warmer images and promotions as Tuesday approaches.
"It's not just good enough for us to win the election this time. It's important for us to bring the community together," said Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, a riverfront proponent. "It's more important from our side that we end this campaign on a positive note."
Voters have been bombarded with messages:
The Broadway Commons campaign had 10,000 green "Broadway is Better" yard signs printed. The campaign has so many, in fact, that it has free distribution spots at businesses near the site.
The pro-riverfront campaign had 2,000 blue and white "Vote NO Issue 11!" yard signs printed.
The Broadway campaign has sent three different mailings to voters. The first went to the 45,000 people who signed petitions to put the stadium measure on the ballot. The other two went to 150,000 likely voters to educate them about the merits of Broadway.
The riverfront campaigns sent a total of 190,000 pieces of assorted mailings. Some likely voters got a letter, while others got a color brochure urging them to protect the riverfront vision.
The Broadway campaign has aired two different television commercials. The first was a nostalgic look at baseball featuring black-and-white footage of games at Crosley Field. The second was the controversial "suitboys" ad featuring six men in suits with paper bags on their heads.
The riverfront campaign has aired four different television commercials. The first was an introduction to the riverfront vision the campaign is promoting. The second featured two Over-the-Rhine women who oppose building a new ballpark at Broadway.
The third lists a number of the group's endorsements. And the fourth, which starts airing today, features a little girl and an aerial view of a computer-generated image of how the riverfront might look a few years from now.
The Broadway campaign started running a new radio commercial Friday featuring Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin, a longtime Broadway supporter.
The riverfront campaign has run radio spots on WCIN (1480 AM) and WIZF (100.9 FM), "The Wiz." The ads talk about the riverfront vision and point out that the Greater Cincinnati African-American Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the riverfront site.
On Monday, the Broadway campaign is distributing more than 100,000 commemorative coins through newspaper inserts.
