Hamilton County issued $350M in bonds that will pay for
construction of the Reds' new Great American Ball Park, the
demolition of Cinergy Field and $46M in overruns at Paul
Brown Stadium, according to Dan Klepal of the CINCINNATI
ENQUIRER, who noted that the bonds will also be used to pay
off about $71.5M in debt issued in '98 to build Paul Brown
Stadium (PBS). County financial advisers said that the
county "secured" an interest rate of 5.61%, lower than the
6% it was forecasting. The lower rate will translate into
about $24M in interest savings over the 32-year life of the
bonds. Taxpayers will pay about $500M in interest if the
bonds "stay on the books" for 32 years (ENQUIRER, 10/25).
GREAT AMERICAN DEBATE: In Cincinnati, Jennifer Edwards
wrote that city and county officials Tuesday "disputed a
claim" by an architect for the Reds that "how and where" the
logo for Great American Ball Park will be displayed at the
new field is "non-negotiable." Edwards reported that a city
design board "balked" at preliminary plans unveiled Monday
showing that the corporate logo is to be "featured at the
ballparks entrance and elsewhere." The board said that the
logo "will ruin the stadium's new look." Cincinnati City
Manager John Shirey: "Under the agreement with the county,
we have design approval of the ballpark." But Reds
architectural representative Mike Schuster said that Great
American Insurance Co. has "insisted the design elements be
used as submitted" (CINCINNATI POST, 10/25).
MONEY TALKS: In Cincinnati, Mike Rutledge wrote that
Hamilton County plans to pay Parsons Brinckerhoff OH (PBO)
$3.34M "plus expenses" to be its project manager for the
ballpark. County officials said that the contract to (PBO)
will give the county "greater oversight of construction than
they had" on PBS (CINCINNATI POST, 10/25).