BY LUCY MAY and GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A month after the announcement that the Cincinnati Bengals' new home would be between Central Avenue and Elm Street, the city of Cincinnati and the team are still hashing out the exact site.

City Manager John Shirey said Friday that a new stadium design takes up far more room on the riverfront than the city expected.

The city wants further discussions with the architects working for Hamilton County in consultation with the team to make sure the new stadium fits harmoniously with future development, Mr. Shirey said.

Future plans for the riverfront include maintaining the city street grid, and the stadium architects didn't seem to keep that in mind when doing their work, he said. Instead, the design shows the stadium's plaza blocking Elm Street.

But Troy Blackburn, the Bengals director of stadium development, said the team and Hamilton County officials have understood all along that the new football stadium is too big to fit into the city street grid.

''The city started with Š an untenable premise,'' Mr. Blackburn said. ''It's not achieveable.''

Mr. Blackburn said the city asked the team to move farther west, but the team refused. Instead, the team offered solutions for re-routing Elm Street to maintain the street grid, he said.

Architects for the county, working in consultation with the team, will meet with city planners next week to discuss designs and figure out what works best, said city architect Bob Richardson.

Hamilton County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus said everyone should simply keep in mind that future riverfront development depends on a football stadium.

''If we have any hope for a riverfront park, an Underground Railroad museum and these other projects, it's predicated on the fact that at least one - if not both - of these sports facilities will be located on the riverfront,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said, referring to new stadiums for the Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds.

Mr. Shirey said the city simply wants to make sure the project leads to successful development of the stadiums and the riverfront.

Previous stories

'The Jungle' moving to Central Ave. Feb. 14, 1997

Stadium site to be announced this week Published Feb. 9, 1997

Seat license sales pass $20M goal Published Feb. 7, 1997

Consultants favor Riverfront West Published Dec. 20, 1996

Seat licenses $300 to $1,500 Published Dec. 18, 1996

Rules, procedure for buying seat licenses Published Dec. 18, 1996

Designs draw oohs and ahhs Published Dec. 17, 1996

Architect's drawings revealed Published Dec. 8, 1996

Site selection is a decision of a lifetime Published Dec. 2, 1996