By Steve Kemme
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - The initiative to establish a professional baseball team in Hamilton has attracted 15 to 20 potential investors, the support of city and Butler County officials, and the interest of two independent minor leagues.

After three months of examining whether Hamilton can support a team, the biggest obstacle remains the funding of a new stadium, which would cost from $7 million to $10 million.

Hamilton, which is strapped financially, won't commit any city money to the project.

But Hamilton's economic development and the city's baseball advisory committee are exploring ways to help pay for a stadium.

"We'll help find a site for the stadium and look at financing tools," City Manager Mike Samoviski said.

A financial package could include tax abatements, tax increment financing and other funding sources.

Another source of revenue would be the sale of naming rights to the stadium, said Terry Bridge, a Hamilton resident who initiated the effort to place a pro baseball team in the city.

"The biggest thing in this whole deal is getting a stadium built," said Mr. Bridge, New Miami High School's varsity baseball coach and the owner of a sportswear store in Hamilton. "The city needs to concentrate on the stadium."

The most commonly mentioned site of a new stadium is the northeast corner of High Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in downtown Hamilton.

City officials think having a baseball team at that site or along the banks of the Great Miami River would boost Hamilton's economy, which has lost 3,000 jobs in the past three years, and revitalize downtown.

At first, Mr. Bridge focused on the Frontier League for a possible franchise. But the Northern League also is under consideration.

Both are independent leagues unaffiliated with Major League Baseball.