The Cincinnati Reds must secure a $20 million line of credit to protect Hamilton County taxpayers from cost overruns at Great American Ball Park.

        The line of credit insures taxpayers will not be stuck paying for overruns at the ballpark, as they were at Paul Brown Stadium, which was $51 million over budget when the construction dust settled.

        It marks a radically different approach than was taken during construction of the football stadium and is made possible by a tougher lease agreement negotiated with the Reds.

        Less than a year after breaking ground, the cost of building the new ballpark is projected to be $300 million — $20 million more than the county is obligated to pay under terms of the lease with the team. Anything over $280 million will have to be cut out of the project or paid for by the Reds.

        Tom Gabelman, the county's consulting attorney for riverfront development, said the team will likely post a letter of credit that will allow the county to draw down money in the event the Reds fail on their obligation to cover expenses.

        Mr. Gabelman doesn't expect that to happen.

        “It's a security blanket,” Mr. Gabelman said. “The county wouldn't use it unless the Reds default.”

        Construction managers are negotiating with team officials on exactly what the team will pay for. It doesn't matter to the county, so long as those items add up to $20 million.

        Any contract savings in the future could reduce the amount the Reds have to cover. But with about two years of construction left and a very difficult site to build on, costs could also increase.

        That's why construction managers have opted not to release $16 million in contingency funds they have set aside for the project. If any of the contingency is left at the end of the project in 2003, it will be used to offset the overruns.

        Releasing the money now is not wise because there is still too much that still can go wrong, project manager Arnie Rosenberg said.

        For example, bad weather could throw off the construction schedule and force construction managers to spend millions on overtime pay, or contract bids could come in higher than expected and contingency funds might be needed to cover the added expense.

        “It's our opinion we'll need it for the remainder of the project,” Mr. Rosenberg said. “It's the prudent and conservative course to take.”

        Nearly all the overruns to date are due to bids coming in higher than expected. Those higher construction costs have driven up so-called soft costs — fees paid to the architect, construction manager and project manager — that are based on a percentage of the overall project cost.

        The overruns would be even higher if not for more than $11 million in corner-cutting and $6 million in project contingency funds that have already been released.

        Some changes already made in the stadium to save money include:

        • Making the stadium club one level instead of two, saving $780,000.

        • Installing laminated countertops in the stadium party suites instead of stone countertops, saving $39,000.

        • Ceramic tile floors instead of stone in the suites, saving $123,000.

        • Building two escalators instead of three in the Reds' Hall of Fame, saving $81,000.

        • Cheaper metal used at concession stands, saving $500,000.

        John Allen, the Reds' chief financial officer, said he's not worried about overruns. He declined to elaborate.

        Could mounting overruns eventually affect the team's ability to sign quality players?

        “I'm not going to answer that,” Mr. Allen said. “I don't comment on our payroll.”

        Suzanne Burke, the county's budget director, said the Reds' line of credit will come from a bank and the team will have to pay interest on the credit line.

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