Waves of lawsuits involving the Florence Freedom minor league baseball team and the fact that the city of Florence and the Frontier League neglected to check the backgrounds of key investors in the project are turning Northern Kentucky's field of dreams into a nightmare.

Liens totaling $3.5 million have been filed against Northern Kentucky Professional Baseball LLC for unpaid construction bills on the $8 million Champion Window Field. Those liens violate the team's lease with the city of Florence, which owns the ground under the stadium and built the parking lot.

The Enquirer reported Saturday that federal authorities are investigating the finances of Chuck Hildebrant, who owns a 20 percent stake in Northern Kentucky Professional Baseball LLC. Those investigations center on how Hildebrant financed the project. Under the lease with the city, Hildebrant and his wife, Connie, guarantee the payment of the stadium rent and all other costs. They had guaranteed that they had enough personal wealth to cover the construction on the stadium if the partnership failed to pay.

The lease calls for semiannual payments to the city of $197, 617, the first of which is due today.

Mayor Dianne Whalen said the city relied on the accuracy of Hildebrant's financial statement when it entered into the lease and did not check further into his background. Had it done so, it might have found out a few interesting facts, including that he had been convicted of forgery in 1991. A call to the city of Hamilton, where the team played last season, might have revealed that the Hildebrants owe nearly $3,600 for an unpaid light bill at the ballpark there. On Monday, Hamilton sued the Freedom and the Hildebrants over that bill.

Also Monday, the Boone County Building Department did not issue the team another temporary building permit and said the county could file a criminal complaint against the team if building problems aren't fixed in 15 days. While the team has been playing in the new stadium off U.S. 42 and Interstate 75, the facility is only 80 percent completed.

Florence Mayor Whalen said the city remains committed to the project, and is optimistic that the issue will be resolved. She said the Frontier League also is committed to remain in Florence, possibly under a different ownership group. The Hildebrants aren't saying anything at the moment.

"I think we all believe that it is the right place, the right community and right atmosphere (for minor league baseball) for the city of Florence," she said.

Surely, the city of Florence and Boone County, with its burgeoning population and business growth, is a great place for minor league baseball, but before deals are done, public officials have the responsibility to make sure interested parties can pay their bills and not place public dollars at risk. Anything less is strictly bush league.