After the Bengals' announcement of plans for a new
riverfront football stadium on Thursday, the Reds
"threatened" a lawsuit Friday if they too don't get a new
stadium on the riverfront, according to Hobson & Michaud of
the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. Reds GM Jim Bowden: "If they don't
treat us equally with the Bengals, I see a lawsuit coming."
Hobson & Michaud note that Bowden's threat of a lawsuit is
based on the "so-called equal treatment clause" in the Reds'
lease that binds the club to Cinergy Field until 2010. The
clause says that the stadiums' co-tenant -- the Bengals --
shall not get any lease terms more favorable than the Reds.
The Reds say the lease was broken, but Hamilton County
Commissioners Bob Bedinghaus and John Dowlin said the idea
that the Reds have been treated unfairly is "ludicrous."
Dowlin: "They started out on an even foot. We said, 'The
first one through (negotiations) gets the best choice. They
(Reds) did not negotiate very actively, and if there is a
best choice on the riverfront, they caused it not to be
theirs by their own inaction" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 2/15).
