BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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Q&A
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By deciding to put the Reds ballpark issue on Hamilton County's Nov. 3 ballot, Ohio Secretary of State Bob Taft settled some questions about the measure but left plenty unanswered.
Here's a primer:
Does this mean there will be a vote?
The Hamilton County Board of Elections staff is proceeding as if the measure will be on the ballot. A court challenge is possible before or after the vote.
What would the ballot measure do?
Create a county charter that would require commissioners to build any new Reds ballpark at the site known as Broadway Commons at Broadway and Reading Road.
So, what happens then?
It's unclear. If the Reds refuse to play at Broadway Commons, the team probably could continue to play at Cinergy Field for another 10 years until their lease expires. Others say the county would have to spend upwards of $50 million to repair Cinergy Field so the team can continue to play there. If the county spends that kind of money, there might not be enough left for a new stadium anywhere.
Why take a vote?
Backers of Broadway Commons say commissioners made a bad decision in July to spend about $235 million on a Reds stadium on the riverfront. They think Broadway is better for baseball fans and the city's economy.
Who opposes a vote?
People who say it's illegal to adopt a county charter for such a narrow purpose and that it could lead to unforeseen damage to the independence of villages and townships.
Didn't commissioners and the Reds already decide to build on the riverfront?
Yes, they signed a preliminary agreement to build a riverfront ballpark adjacent to Cinergy Field on the site known as Baseball on Main or the "Wedge."
Could the vote overturn that?
Backers of Broadway Commons say yes, since it would direct commissioners not to spend any money for any other location.
Could this vote delay building a ballpark?
Broadway backers say no work can begin on the riverfront site until 2000 anyway and that all this will be cleared up by then.
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After years of debate around Hamilton County water coolers, kitchen tables and barstools, the decision about where to put a new Reds ballpark will be made in voting booths this November.
The question of whether that vote stands, however, probably will land in a courtroom.
Ohio Secretary of State Bob Taft ruled Wednesday that a citizen petition requiring county commissioners to locate a new stadium at Broadway Commons meets election law standards and should be placed on the ballot.
Broadway Commons backers cheered Mr. Taft's decision, which broke a 2-2 tie by the Hamilton County Board of Elections. Nearly 45,000 people signed petitions calling for a vote.
"My goal in proposing this petition was to get the issue in front of the people so the people have the opportunity to vote," said Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune. "I want to see a ballpark built at Broadway Commons. But if the people vote this down, I have to accept that."
Local lawyers who oppose the measure said Wednesday they probably wouldn't go to court before the vote. Such a challenge would have to go straight to the Ohio Supreme Court and could be tossed out on a technicality more easily than a challenge after the election, said Joseph Trauth, one of those lawyers.
"I think going through this charade will be to the detriment of our community," Mr. Trauth said. "One way or the other, it's not going to be held to be valid. Either the people will vote it down or the courts will find it unconstitutional."
The ballpark measure would create a county charter in an effort to require Hamilton County commissioners to build any new Reds ballpark at Broadway Commons, at Broadway and Reading Road.
Only Summit County in Ohio has a charter, and it's unclear whether a charter can be used for the purpose the Broadway group proposes. "A good question that people need to ask themselves is whether Hamilton County's fundamental aspiration on the eve of the millennium is to be just like Akron," said Bill Seitz, a lawyer and Green Township trustee opposing the measure. "What a great vision for our community." The county has a tentative deal with the Reds to build a stadium on the riverfront, a project county officials estimate will cost $297 million.
Broadway backers insist passage of the charter would nullify that deal. Ultimately, a court would probably be asked to rule on that, too.
Reds Managing Executive John Allen issued a statement Wednesday reaffirming the team's commitment to the riverfront.
"We are confident that once the voters of Hamilton County have an opportunity to hear both sides of this issue, they will endorse the future that puts the Reds on an even playing field with the Cincinnati Bengals and secures the vision that the voters had in mind when they voted in March of 1996," the statement said, referring to the sales tax increase voters approved to fund stadium construction.
William Reik, one of the Reds' limited partners, said he fears what a court delay could do to the club's ability to compete without a new stadium as baseball salaries escalate.
"It's extremely important to have a new stadium sooner than later," Mr. Reik said. "We don't need a new stadium in 75 years. We needed a new stadium two years ago."
![[]](/editions/1998/08/20/bcommons_180x117.jpg)
The entrance to the 'Broadway Commons' site.
(File photo)
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Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus -- who with Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. approved the riverfront deal with the Reds -- said riverfront supporters will defeat the Broadway measure. Roselawn resident Virginia Rhodes said she knows Mr. Bedinghaus and Mr. Neyer probably think they've listened to people. But their vote for the riverfront reflects a suburban fear of the city, she said.
"You need to hear from people who don't live where you do or don't think like you do," said Ms. Rhodes, who signed a Broadway petition. But Lee Peck of Kenwood, who also signed a petition, doesn't feel that strongly about any of the stadium debate.
"It's not the highest priority on my list," he confessed, saying he could probably be swayed either way. "I suppose I represent a fairly large segment that thinks, "Take a vote.' "
Mr. Peck is just the kind of voter both sides will be trying to persuade between now and November.
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ON THE BALLOT
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This suggested ballot language appeared on petitions circulated by Broadway Commons supporters. The actual ballot language is likely to be different. A majority of votes is needed for passage:
Shall a Charter for Hamilton County, Ohio, be adopted to provide that any new stadium constructed, in whole or in part, for major league baseball, and to be funded, in whole or in part, by a sales tax approved by the electors of Hamilton County on March 19, 1996, shall be located substantially in the area known as Broadway Commons, and that neither Hamilton County, nor any of its Boards and Commissions, shall enact any legislation or resolution or grant any rights that would, directly or indirectly, cause the construction of any new stadium for major league baseball at another location; that this Charter accords with the recommendations of the Cincinnati City Planning Commission and the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission and that nothing in this amendment is intended to preclude routine maintenance, or repair, or renovation of the existing sports stadium now known as Cinergy Field.
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Mr. Bedinghaus wants to paint a vision for Cincinnati's riverfront that depends on two riverfront sports stadiums.
Without two stadiums, the county can't spend millions on riverfront garages, he said, and without the riverfront garages, land won't be available for expansive riverfront parks.
Mr. Seitz plans to argue that creation of a county charter could ultimately weaken townships and municipalities across the county. Such a risk, he said, is not worth "personal satisfaction in deciding which group of downtown millionaires wins."
Commissioner John Dowlin, the only commissioner to support Broadway, condemned such arguments.
"I have never heard as much negative spin doctoring on any subject in my 35 years as an elected official within Hamilton County as I have in the past few weeks about the Broadway Commons initiative," he said.
While Broadway backers argue the city's power brokers want a riverfront site for their own profit, there are those involved in the Broadway movement who would gain from having baseball at Broadway.
Chavez Properties, which owns most of the Broadway land, has given county officials a price of between $20 million and $30 million for the land.
Cincinnati City Councilman Jim Tarbell, one of Broadway's strongest backers, runs two restaurants near the site but doesn't own any land that would be part of the deal.
Geoff Hobson contributed to this story.
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