By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

After trying to give it away, the owners of Cincinnati Mills have decided to hold a public auction to move a 30-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide "audio kinetic" sculpture that has served as the centerpiece of the cavernous shopping center since 1988.

The Mills Corp. began looking for a new home for the sculpture, titled "Ball Game," shortly after buying the 1.5 million-square-foot mall for $69.4 million in fall 2002.

The sculpture didn't fit into the company's plans to redevelop the shopping center, formerly known as Forest Fair Mall, into a retail and entertainment complex that will feature nearly 200 outlet stores and specialty shops when it reopens Aug. 19.

Mills even offered to donate the piece, valued at about a quarter of a million dollars, to a local nonprofit organization.

No luck.

Apparently, the size and cost of moving the massive structure was a deterrent.

Now Mills has expanded the pool of prospective bidders in hopes of shedding the moving, sound-making creation of artist George Rhoads.

Proceeds of the auction will be donated to Shriners Burns Institute.

Over the next two weeks, Michael Angelo Auction Co. in Cincinnati will conduct an Internet auction (at michaelangeloauctions.com), where information about the sculpture, including photos and measurements, will be available.

Bidding started Friday, and a Mills Corp. spokeswoman said no bids had been received as of Tuesday.

The online auction will be followed by a one-day, in-person auction held at 7 p.m. April 2 at 10725 Reading Road.

Live bids made on April 2 will be competitive with all previous online bids.

E-mail rtucker@enquirer.com