Wednesday, September 01, 1999

Ballpark job complex

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Costs mount to make Wedge work for Reds

BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

INFOGRAPHIC

Cinergy demolition plan

        Building a new Reds ballpark on the riverfront by 2003 will take special cranes, millions in modifications to a partially demolished Cinergy Field and a new highway ramp.

        Hamilton County's first detailed cost estimate for the team's new home — obtained by The Enquirer through a public records request — brings into focus the complexity and cost of building the new ballpark between Firstar Center and Cinergy Field.

        For example, about half of Cinergy Field will be left standing when the new ballpark opens. Throughout the first season in the new ballpark, demolition of the old stadium will continue next door.

        And only about half the 1,200 parking spaces immediately adjacent to the new ballpark will be built in time for Opening Day 2003. The other half will be finished for the next season.

BALLPARK SHOPPING LIST

Some of the expenditures listed in Hamilton County's first, rough cost estimate for the new Reds ballpark include:   • Bat/helmet racks, dugout/bullpen benches — $50,000.   • Spike-proof carpet for the clubhouse — $62,460.   • Hall of Fame costs — $2.14 million.   • 45 turnstiles at $3,500 each — $157,500.   • Mascot locker — $200.   • 15 press lockers at $125 each — $1,875.   • Ice makers for luxury suites at $1,150 each — $72,450.   • 2 full-body whirlpools — $20,000.   • 1 extremity whirlpool — $3,000.   • An eight-person spa whirlpool — $75,000.   • A Swim-X, which allows athletes to run in water — $100,000.   • 5 batting cages, with cables, netting, padding — $100,000.   • Relocation of existing video board — $600,000.   • Furniture for luxury suites and party suites — $655,500.   • Media lounge, press dining, press box — $329,550.   • 3,300 padded 21-inch club seats — $594,000.   • 770 luxury suite seats — $154,000.

        “We're almost kind of visualizing two opening days in the new ballpark,” said ballpark Project Manager Daniel Streyle.

        But Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin doesn't see it that way. Mr. Dowlin said the cost and complexity of the new ballpark just shows the Broadway Commons site at Broadway and Reading Road offered a better, cheaper alter native for the project.

        “This truly is the "Wedge site,'” Mr. Dowlin said of the riverfront location, which voters chose over Broadway Commons in a vote last year. “Who wants to come to a game in what I call a war zone?”

        Mr. Dowlin also argues the riverfront site leads to addition al expenses that could have been avoided at Broadway — such as a new $5.2 million Fort Washington Way ramp and $5.4 million budgeted to maintain access to Cinergy Field and Firstar Center during construction.

        “The real question will be what can we design to keep within budget,” he said, “and I'm not sure we can.”

        The county's latest estimate puts the project's cost at $299 million, a number Mr. Streyle said will change as the design evolves. That budget does not include contingency funds for

        design and construction or fees for the construction manager, architects or the project manager, which could add as much as $44 million to the project's cost. (Those fees still are being negotiated, Mr. Streyle said.)

        In the estimate, construction manager Huber, Hunt & Nichols estimates other costs of the complexities of the tight riverfront site: $2.5 million for tower cranes to work between the new ballpark and the partially demolished Cinergy Field; $1.85 million for premium labor costs because of the tight site; and $1.5 million because of work that must be done out of sequence because the new ballpark overlaps with Cinergy Field.

        But Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, a fan of the riverfront site, said it is no more complicated — or expensive — than county officials expected.

        During last year's campaign about where to put the ballpark, proponents of the riverfront argued there were added expenses specific to the Broadway site, too, such as land acquisition. Mr. Bedinghaus didn't want to renew that debate Tuesday.

        He said the cost of the project will evolve as it did on the Bengals' $404 million Paul Brown Stadium complex, characterizing this first estimate as the wish-list stage.

        “It's kind of like sitting down and making the decision to build a house and sitting with the builder and deciding, "Maybe we'll give up the custom cabinets so we'll have a better grade of carpeting,'” he said. “You might notice the difference, but Aunt Martha and Uncle Al won't the first time they visit.”

        Among the complexities detailed in the estimate is an explanation of the $9.4 million demolition of Cinergy Field.

        The demolition will occur in four phases to gradually free up space to build the new ballpark while the Reds continue to play in Cinergy Field until the 2003 season.

        About 1,100 spaces on the east side of Cinergy Field's parking garage will be demolished from August 2000 to October 2000. Between 13,000 and 15,000 seats in the outfield seating bowl will be demolished between October 2000 and April 2001.

        Mr. Streyle expects the county will spend about $7 million to keep Cinergy Field operating after that partial demolition occurs. The county will have to build some new walls, put up gates so fans don't “walk off concourses into oblivion,” and move an elevator, among other modifications.

        From October 2002 to April 2003, crews will demolish Cinergy Field to Main Street where the plaza for the new ballpark will end.

        The plans show the rest of Cinergy will be razed between April 2003 and April 2004, the Reds' second Opening Day in the new ballpark.

        The initial cost estimate also shows a bit more about what the Reds and architects are considering for the new ballpark. For example, the Reds asked architects to study adding an extra 10 luxury suites to the 51 already planned for the new ballpark.

        The team wants to see where those extra suites would fit into the design and how much they would cost, Mr. Streyle said.

        Also, the preliminary estimate makes mention of a “canopy,” a partial awning-like roof similar to the one planned for the new football stadium.

        At this point, $1.5 million is budgeted for steel to support the canopy and another $1.6 million is budgeted for fabric. Mr. Streyle said designers are considering a metal awning, which might be less expensive.

        The Bengals canopy was a source of friction between the county and the team.

        This time around, though, Mr. Bedinghaus said he isn't fretting.

        “The beauty of these things is it all works out in the end,” he said. “I don't have a roof fixation anymore.”

Tell us your ballpark suggestions

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