The latest stumbling block to expansion of the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center sits on 68 feet of sloped grass along Interstate 75.

        Cincinnati needs the property, owned by the Ohio Department of Transportation, so the expanded center can span Central Avenue. Support columns would need to be built on the ODOT land.

        Without the right-of-way, the refurbished center would lose about 70,000 feet of new ballroom space, an automotive entrance off Central and new meeting rooms.

        “The renovation itself, the basic concepts behind it, would be lost if we can't build on the other side,” said John Deatrick, the city's transportation director.

        Diana Martin, planning administrator in ODOT's Cincinnati office, said Thursday that her recommendation to Columbus is for the state not to sell the land until three studies are completed — one of which is of a reconfigured Brent Spence Bridge approach that won't be finished for about two years.

        Ms. Martin said the concern is that ODOT might need the land to reroute traffic during highway construction, or it might need the land to maintain the highway.

        “Although 68 feet doesn't seem like a great deal of real estate, I would hate to find out subsequently that we had to go with a much more expensive option because we'd given (it) up,” Ms. Martin said. “I don't think it would be prudent to limit our options now. We can fit a number of lanes in 68 feet.”

        It would be impossible to begin construction of the $198 million expansion project as designed without the land rights in hand.

        Tim Riordan, Cincinnati's acting city manager, said a city study of the land has determined ODOT won't need it. The city has requested permission from ODOT to perform a more detailed study to back up that conclusion.

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