Thursday, February 17, 2000
Lessons will be put to use on Reds park
But still no guarantees, Krings says
BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Hamilton County officials are trying to head off cost overrun problems with the soon-to-be-built Reds ballpark.
Saying he has learned a lesson, Hamilton County Administrator David Krings has suggested changes to the overall project, including the hiring of a county construction project executive and contracting with an auditing firm.
They would be in place as the Reds ballpark work begins this summer.
Yet, even with those changes, Mr. Krings said: “There is no absolute, positive guarantee on anything in life.”
Even before the construction has finished on Paul Brown Stadium, plans are being drawn up for the 42,500-seat ballpark for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. That stadium is expected to be finished by Opening Day 2003.
Large building projects the size of the stadiums are complex, and often subject to change orders and other factors that affect the cost, said Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus. This is an issue that has been played out in other cities with new stadiums, including Cleveland and Seattle.
On Wednesday, after approving additional money for the Bengals stadium, Mr. Krings said he should have hired a project auditor at the beginning of construction.
Mr. Bedinghaus added that, no matter how qualified those working on the Bengals project are, there should have been someone looking over their shoulder.
“We trusted the professionals,” Mr. Bedinghaus said. “That trust, obviously, was not well placed.”
Those are two reasons for the changes planned by Mr. Krings for the rest of the Bengals stadium work, as well as the Reds ballpark. An auditor can challenge change orders and a hired construction executive will assure the county's interests are being looked after.
County officials also pointed to the nature of the agreement with the Reds.
The county set a $287 million “guaranteed maximum price” for the new Bengals stadium. Officials thought that would give them a firm idea of how much the stadium would cost. It hasn't worked as planned.
In the Reds lease, the county included a “maximum county contribution.” That figure has been set at $280 million, which means the county doesn't expect to pay more than that amount toward the stadium structure itself.
That figure doesn't include such things as demolition of Cinergy Field or parking, and county officials acknowledge there is room for those costs to grow.
The “maximum county contribution” language was an effort to better insulate the county from any rising costs associated with the Reds ballpark, Mr. Krings said.
The county also refused to pay the Reds any penalties if the stadium is not done on time. By contrast, the county must pay the Bengals $2 million for each preseason game missed, and $4 million for any regular season game missed.
But there are still pitfalls. The Reds stadium poses its own challenges — from another tight construction schedule to the complexity of building a stadium so close to the Firstar Center and Cinergy Field. A portion of Cinergy Field will be demolished while still in use to make way for the new Reds ballpark.
Reporter Lucy May contributed.
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