The Reds and Hamilton County (OH) "will announce" today
a 30-year lease deal that "provides the financial framework
for a new" $297M riverfront ballpark to open in 2003. Reds
execs "expect the new ballpark" to bring in "as much as"
$24M a year, which would "help the financially fragile" team
"field a better team." But Reds Managing Exec John Allen
said, "The financial terms are good when you compare it to
other baseball deals. But no one should read into this that
just because we got this lease signed we're going to go out
and sign a lot of free agents." The county will contribute
$235M toward construction of the new ballpark, while the
Reds will contribute $30M -- $10M each at groundbreaking, a
year after groundbreaking and when the project is completed.
The team will also pay $2.5M a year in rent for the first
nine years and $1M a year thereafter. In addition to the
$30M contribution and the $22.5M in rent, the team will
"contribute the proceeds of the 25-cent ticket tax and will
cover an estimated" $7M a year for the park's operation and
maintenance. The team will receive all revenue from ticket
sales, concessions, ads and parking (CINCY ENQUIRER, 5/21).
