Reds execs said Monday that six local companies "are
paying more than" $1M each for luxury boxes at the Reds' new
ballpark "so that the team does not have to charge" regular
season ticket holders for PSLs, according to Andrew Conte of
the CINCINNATI POST. The companies that bought "founders'
suites" are: Delta Airlines and Comair; Clear Channel
Communications; AK Steel; Gradison McDonald Investments; and
"two other anonymous corporations." Reds COO John Allen
said that the companies' investments "roughly equals" what
other companies will pay if they buy a luxury box and keep
it for ten years. The companies will get "additional
amenities" such as larger facilities, but they will not
receive ad space at the ballpark (CINCINNATI POST, 3/28).
PLAN PANNED: Also in Cincinnati, Cliff Radel follows up
on the Reds' new ballpark model and writes, "Don't take me
out to this ballgame. The Reds' new stadium is a foul
ball." Drawings of the park showed that the "stadium's
style, such as it is, appears stripped down, lackluster.
Call it generic modern, devoid of character. It's not retro.
It's not even deco. It's a zero" (CINCIN. ENQUIRER, 3/29).
