FLORENCE — The stadium naming rights have been sold, contract negotiations are down to the wire, and Chris Sabo will be in the dugout.

        But this is minor league baseball. And it's in Florence.

        Rejecting the bid of a Cleveland company, the city of Florence has entered exclusive contract talks with local investors to build and operate a stadium for a Frontier League baseball team to be managed by Mr. Sabo, former Cincinnati Reds third baseman.

        The city lease for the stadium land could be signed on Aug. 13, and the team could be playing ball by the 2003 season.

        Officials in the Boone County city rejected a proposal submitted by the only other bidder — Gateway Consultants Group of Cleveland — to bring professional baseball to Northern Kentucky.

        Gateway owns a minor league team affiliated with the Northern League and headed efforts to build Jacobs Field and Gund Arena in Cleveland.

        Mayor Diane Whalen said the city eliminated the Cleveland firm's proposal because it didn't meet the city's specification as closely as the proposal submitted by the local group, Northern Kentucky Professional Baseball Ltd.

        She said Gateway's proposal called for a larger stadium requiring additional commercial projects.

        Gary Enzweiler, 34, of East Walnut Hills, is managing partner of the Kentucky group. He wants to build a ballpark next to Interstate 75 and bring in the Frontier League franchise, for which he holds exclusive rights in the Greater Cincinnati area.

        His proposal calls for building a $4 million, 4,000-seat stadium with a grass berm to accommodate an additional 2,500 fans.

        Mr. Enzweiler's partners are Bob Kessler and Robert T. Kleansch.

        “The only work left to do is formally put together a lease with the city,” Mr. Enzweiler said. “We have talked about those terms with the city for months, so we don't anticipate any snags there. But the logistics still do need to be worked out.”

        The city could sign a lease as early as Aug. 13, when the group will make a formal presentation to council. Mr. Enzweiler said Mr. Sabo should be at the meeting.

        Mr. Sabo, who lives in Cincinnati, was playing a celebrity golf tournament in Dayton, Ohio, Thursday and couldn't immediately be reached for comment. He has said publicly that he would like to manage the team.

        Mr. Enzweiler said the naming rights to the stadium had been sold, but would not name the buyer.

        Florence already has an option to purchase 28 acres off I-75 and U.S. 42 at the site of the former Fantasy Frontier amusement center. The plan, Mayor Whalen said, is to put together a 27-acre parcel of the optioned land and some adjacent property for about $3.9 million.

        Under the proposed plan, the group would construct the stadium and lease it from the city, paying 50 percent of the debt service on the bonds the city would use to purchase the land.

        The lease agreement would be for 30 years. NKPB would receive all ballpark revenues including the naming rights, seat license sales, advertising signage, concessions and broadcast fees.

        Mayor Whalen said the city is interested in the proposal, in part, because it lets the city to buy a prime piece of property over a 30-year term, with Mr. Enzweiler's group paying half the debt service on the bonds.

        The Frontier League is a private baseball league headquartered in Zanesville, Ohio. It started in 1992-1993 with eight teams in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. The league now has 12 teams competing in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

        It is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

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