By Brenna R. Kelly
Enquirer staff writer

BURLINGTON - Even the seats where fans watched the Florence Freedom take on Kalamazoo Tuesday night haven't been paid for, according to a lien filed Tuesday.

In the latest financial trouble to hit the minor league baseball team and its ownership group, the company that installed 4,500 seats at the team's stadium says it hasn't been paid.

American Seating Company of Grand Rapids, Mich., filed a lien against the team Tuesday - claiming it is owed $273,602. The last of the seats was installed May 27, the lien states.

The team's ownership group, Northern Kentucky Professional Baseball, LLC, and part-owner Chuck Hildebrant now face $3.9 million in liens filed by 20 contractors who say they were not paid for work done at Champion Window Field.

Work stopped on the stadium July 16 because contractors had not been paid. The team continues to play at the stadium, which is about 80 percent complete.

The liens violate the team's lease with the city of Florence. If the first of the liens is not paid by Monday, the city could evict the team from the stadium.

In addition to the liens, the team's owners also owe the city of Florence $192,617. On Aug. 10, the team was supposed to pay the city $197,617 - it's first payment on the land leased to the ownership group. Of that amount, the team's owners paid $5,000.

The payment was an attempt to "demonstrate the intention of NKPB to move forward with the Florence Freedom," wrote the group's attorney, Dennis Buckley of Cincinnati.

Federal authorities said two weeks ago that Hildebrant, who owns 20 percent of team, is under investigation. That investigation appears to be focusing on how Hildebrant secured funding to build the stadium.

Hildebrant also owes nearly $4.5 million to two banks that obtained court orders last week requiring him to immediately repay several loans, according to court records.

E-mail bkelly@enquirer.com