Firstar Center has appealed to the city of Cincinnati to help solve parking, staging and access problems that it says Hamilton County has refused to address.

        Furthermore, Firstar Center's top executive, Doug Kirchhofer, described top Hamilton County officials as “nothing short of disingenuous” in addressing concerns surrounding construction of the new Reds stadium.

        Firstar Center's request, hand-delivered to council members Wednesday, came one day after a Hamilton County judge told the county it must pay the riverfront arena for seizing its property rights to build the new stadium.
       

Under pressure

        Hamilton County Administrator David Krings said Mr. Kirchhofer is using Cincinnati City Council to pressure the county to quickly pay Firstar Center and settle the dispute.

        “He is trying to involve City Council and pressure the county into paying large sums of money to Firstar (Center),” Mr. Krings said.

        Mr. Kirchhofer said he merely wants the city's help to ensure that spectators and performers can easily get in and out of Firstar Center.

        “I think there are issues that are worthy of the city's attention,” Mr. Kirchhofer said.

        For more than 18 months, Mr. Kirchhofer said, his repeated attempts to resolve access issues along the riverfront have been rebuffed by county officials.

        The arena's owner and operator, Cincinnati Entertainment Associates, filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in July seeking a temporary order halting construction.

        Judge Robert Ruehlman refused to issue a temporary order, in part because it would be too expensive and potentially delay the $330 million Great American Ball Park's scheduled 2003 opening. That allowed demolition crews to destroy parking spaces and other structures to provide room for the stadium.

        On Tuesday, Judge Ruehlman ordered the county to file a separate “appropriation action” within 20 days to determine how much it must pay for taking Firstar Center's property rights.
       

Letters at odds

        Mr. Kirchhofer said he was encouraged by a motion passed by City Council last week directing City Manager John Shirey to resolve access issues before approving the park's design plans.

        Mr. Shirey responded with a letter to council members saying that access concerns are being addressed.

        Mr. Kirchhofer said he wrote his letter to let council know that the problems are not being solved.

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