Signaling friendlier relations, the Reds and Hamilton County staff will visit a consulting architect's headquarters in Kansas City on Thursday to discuss stadium sites in-depth.
The Reds last week threatened a lawsuit and decampment from Cincinnati, triggered by the Bengals' settling on a western riverfront home. The baseball team claimed unfair treatment.
But the Reds and the county are back at the negotiating table this week, and will visit HOK Inc.'s Missouri headquarters in a step toward a preliminary Reds' lease agreement. The Bengals signed such an agreement with the county last September, which paved the way for the football site to be settled.
Reds Managing Executive John Allen called the trip ''a fact-finding'' mission and debunked the notion there has been a cold war of sorts between the club and the county.
''This isn't the first meeting we've had this month,'' Mr. Allen said. ''There have been conversations, and we continue to work at it. What's nice about HOK is they've been accumulating all this data, and it gives us a chance to sit down and look at it together.''
County Commissioner John Dowlin said that potential baseball sites have been narrowed to two, from five, in preparation for the HOK visit: A new stadium uptown at Broadway Commons, and a refurbished Cinergy Field.
But Mr. Allen and County Administrator David Krings, who will represent Hamilton County in Kansas City, said no baseball site options are off the table.
Remaining choices are razing Cinergy Field and rebuilding it - possibly sending the team out of town for two or three seasons - or wedging the stadium between Cinergy Field and Riverfront Coliseum, renamed The Crown last week. The wedge is an uncertain fit.
County officials also say they might buy The Crown and tear it down - even though new owners announced a $14 million renovation to accommodate minor league hockey, professional soccer and concerts.
Mr. Dowlin, who is a Broadway Commons advocate, said the choice between the two is clear to him.
Refurbishing Cinergy Field is not what the voters wanted when they passed a sales tax increase last year for two new stadiums, he said.
''Talk about disparate treatment. (Bengals General Manager) Mike Brown is getting a new stadium, and the Reds get a remodeled used car.''
Disparate treatment was the basis for a threatened lawsuit last week by Reds General Manager Jim Bowden, who cited a clause in the team's current lease. It says the stadium's co-tenant, the Bengals, shall not get any lease terms more favorable than the Reds do.
The Reds have said their preference is for a riverfront site.
HOK is retained by the county as a consultant in lease negotiations with the Reds. But the architectural firm, which is among the most prominent nationally in sports stadium design, has consulted for both the Reds and Bengals at different times.
In May 1995, HOK examined renovating Cinergy Field for football, and said it could be done with the Bengals playing fewer than three seasons on the road.
For baseball, some county officials say, the stadium could be made over while the Reds continue to play.
There are precedents for such thinking.
In Anaheim, Calif., the Angels are converting to a baseball-only stadium, having lost the Rams football team to St. Louis. Construction began in the fall and is scheduled to conclude by opening day 1998 - continuing during the entire 1997 baseball season.
Anaheim Stadium, which is similar inside to Cinergy Field, will look the same outside except for a few missing concrete panels.
During construction, seating will be reduced from more than 64,000 to less than 30,000. Ultimately, the stadium will seat 45,000 for baseball - the same target capacity of a Reds stadium.
Some Angels seats will be closed, forcing the relocation of a few thousand season ticket holders.
The Oakland A's tried the same thing last season and lost attendance as a result. As the Oakland Coliseum was expanded to accommodate Raiders' football, fans were distracted by the construction - which continued during baseball season. The A's averaged the lowest attendance in the major leagues, with 13,888 fans a game.
Construction delays and safety concerns forced the team to play the first six games of the season in Las Vegas.
Busch Stadium, home to the St. Louis Cardinals, underwent a $7 million renovation during the off-season, which included a picnic area behind the left-center field fence. The popular feature will be imitated at Anaheim Stadium.
Geoff Hobson contributed to this report.
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