Hamilton County commissioners say they can learn a lot from the results of a $500,000 audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers that found $17 million in undocumented construction charges at Paul Brown Stadium.

        Commissioners think the audit will help them recover some of the $51 million spent to cover overruns at the football stadium.

        Auditors for the New York firm presented their findings to commissioners Tuesday.

        Carl Stich, a chief assistant prosecuting attorney, said the allegedly undocumented charges might be easier to recover than the $34 million that auditors say had sufficient paperwork.

        “I'd say that $17 million is a better target for recovery than the remainder,” Mr. Stich said. “But our analysis goes way beyond the (audit).”

        Neither construction manager Getz Ventures nor architect NBBJ responded to the audit.

        “I think that's very telling,” Commissioner Todd Portune said. “They've had more than enough time to consider the report.”

        Project Manager Turner Barton Malow D.A.G. responded that most of the changes that drove up costs were approved by the county before being implemented.

        The report includes a list of 22 lessons learned from the troubled Paul Brown Stadium project. Commissioners asked managers overseeing construction of Great American Ball Park how those lessons have been applied.

        Many have already been applied to the current project. For example:

        • County attorneys have negotiated much tighter contracts with its construction managers, and the county has more staff members watching the work.

        • The project managers are dealing with changes to contracts as they come through. Change orders at the football stadium — considered one of the major reasons for the overruns — piled up.

        • The county is about five weeks away from hiring an outside auditor to work on the project through its completion.

        Mike Sieving, the county's construction executive, said the county will accept bids for the oversight job in about a week.

        • There are more construction managers — from construction manager Hunt Construction, project manager Parsons Brinckerhoff and architect HOK Sport — on this job than on the football stadium.

        Mr. Portune, who has called for an outside auditor at the ballpark since before being elected in November, said the county needs to move more quickly in putting that oversight in place.

        Commissioner John Dowlin said the biggest difference between the ballpark and football stadium is that there are no penalties in place if the ballpark does not open.

        “I'm heartened by our case for recovery,” Commissioner Tom Neyer said. “This report shines a clear light on recoverable costs.”

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