Latest design plan reveals historic features and modern amenities. See historic features See gallery of images (Images provided by HOK)

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        Some fans wanted a grand old ballpark. Others wanted a sleek, modern work of art. Ballpark designers say they've delivered a little of each.

        Joe Spear, principal of the Kansas City architect HOK Sport, unveiled color images and a three-dimensional video Thursday showing off the Reds' new home.

        The presentation came after weeks of public clamor and a lawsuit by The Cincinnati Enquirer for county officials to show drawings for a ballpark that will cost taxpayers $280 million.

        Mr. Spear said the ballpark is as much a reflection of the city as it is a reflection of Reds' history; as much a salute to the past as a look into the future.

        “The cool thing about this is that a guy on the street who wants to see a traditional ballpark will see it,” Mr. Spear said. “An art critic may see it as a modern, fresh expression.

        “But whoever is in the park, everywhere they look will be something different to see.”

        So, take a look around the ballpark, scheduled to open in April 2003.

        Walking along the outside perimeter of the ballpark — down a newly constructed Second Street or up Main Street — fans will be greeted by three-story buildings of brick and cast limestone.

        The exact colors haven't been decided, but architects think it will eventually be brown brick and white stone, featuring a tinge of color.

        Those materials were picked because they match many of the downtown buildings. Because these buildings are not connected to the stadium and extend to city streets, it's important they link to surrounding buildings, Mr. Spear said.

        There will be 85,000 square feet of brick on the facade of the outer buildings. A familiar baseball phrase will be posted along one of the buildings fronting Second Street, perhaps “Rounding third and heading for home,” the signature sign-off of broadcaster Joe Nuxhall.

        At the intersection of Second and Main streets is the opening to Crosley Terrace, a point most fans will pass through before entering the ballpark. That first step will be a step into the past.

        The terrace is about an acre of concrete, landscaped with grass and trees. Statutes of Crosley Field-era players also will dot the landscape, along with a pitcher's mound built to Major League Baseball dimensions of the day.

        Grass in the terrace will be sloped at the same incline as the Crosley outfield. Special lighting will illuminate the statues, stone benches and a 60-foot stone sculpture meant to depict the romance of the game.

        Fans will get to vote on which four players are immortalized there, with the only catch that those players spent their entire careers in Crosley Field, 1912-1970.

        The “Big Red Machine” teams of the mid-1970s will be honored inside the park in a Reds Hall of Fame. Although exact details of displays will be announced later, the museum will be a year-round facility and, at 21,000 square feet, one of the largest in Major League Baseball.

        The Hall of Fame will be connected to the stadium by bridge walkway.

        Now pull out your ticket and get ready to step inside the park, which is a white steel structure of more than 1 million square feet.

        Probably the first things fans will notice are the huge concourses, which will provide views of the ballpark, river and city skyline. The concourses will be twice as wide — in some places three times as wide — as those at Cinergy Field.

        Other features include:

        • The clock atop the main scoreboard in left field will be a replica of the Longines analog clock at Crosley Field.

        • The seats will be dark green or blue, to make the stadium feel more intimate. Seats further down each baseline will be angled toward home plate. Mr. Spear said the idea is to make each section of seats a little different, giving each section a unique “neighborhood” feel.

        • Retired Reds player jerseys will be inside the seating bowl on the right field wall.

        • The Big Red Machine will be honored at the base of the Hall of Fame in the form of carved numbers and plaques to honor the Great Eight.

        • The Sun/Moon deck will be in right field, a section of open and uncovered seats. The area is a salute to the sun deck from Crosley Field.

        • The bleachers will be a double-deck structure under the main video board in left field, some of which will overlook the visitor's bullpen. These bleachers will be close to a brew pub and beer garden. A second section of single-deck bleachers will be in right field. All bleachers will have contoured seat backs.

        • The notch is a gap in the upper seating bowl, just to the third base side of home plate. The gap aligns with Sycamore Street so people walking downtown will get views through the ballpark. The gap will be connected by two bridges, where fans can stand and watch the game.

        • Standing room only areas also will be featured on top of the Stadium Club restaurant and possibly on either side of the outfield bleachers.

        • Field level seating will comprise twice the area as Cinergy Field. About 20,000 field level seats will be in the new stadium, as opposed to 10,000 at Cinergy.

        ãThe chapel will be for players only, but the ballpark will be the first in the Major Leagues to offer a designated place for players to pray.

        ãThe scoreboard in left field will have a back on it, featuring a baseball mural. The video board is 35 percent larger than Cinergy's, and is considered better than many being installed in other new ballparks. The information board also will be larger and allow for continuous display of pitcher's statistics and the line score.

        “We've tried to incorporate the important elements of the city in the stadium — bridges, city and river, stone and steel,” Mr. Spear said. “This is probably the most complicated project we've worked on.”

        One question yet unanswered is whether there will be sufficient money coming from stadium sales tax revenues and other sources to do everything the Reds and HOK want in the new park.

        The commissioners have capped the project at $280 million, which includes $30 million from the Reds.

        That $280 million figure does not include some $45 million the county will pay to demolish Cinergy Field and make other infrastructure improvements.

        The state of Ohio will pay 15 percent of the costs of the Reds ballpark and the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium.

        Of the $81 million, the state has appropriated $57 million, which has gone to the construction of the Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium.

        That would leave only $24 million in state dollars for the Reds ballpark, less than 15 percent of the total cost of the project.

        Commissioners Bob Bedinghaus and Tom Neyer said the county will have to ask the Ohio General Assembly for money to pay its 15 percent of the costs.

        If the state does not come up with the money, Mr. Bedinghaus said, it will have to come “either from the Reds; or the plan might have to be scaled back some. But I don't see any indication the Reds plan to scale back.”

        Reds Chief Operating Officer John Allen said that, after spending 30 years in Cinergy, he thinks the fans will appreciate the simple things in the ballpark — like real grass and the old-fashioned clock.

        “The smell of freshly cut grass will be phenomenal,” Mr. Allen. “But each fan will take away something different. We just wanted a stadium that is uniquely Cincinnati.

        “I think we've done that.”

        And so do many fans.

        A model of the ballpark and the video were displayed at the Reds game Thursday afternoon. Most walked away from the model smiling.

        Many admitted they'd never really been pleased with Cinergy Field's “cookie-cutter” design and had longed for the old days of Crosley when the seats were closer to the ball field and the atmosphere was more familiar.

        It'll happen in three more years.

        “I never liked the closed-in feeling (at Cinergy),” said Rick Kroner, of Mount Healthy. “Baseball should be in a ball field instead of a stadium.”

        Carrying his 5-year-old son, Travis, Mr. Kroner said he hoped the boy would enjoy the new stadium the way he once enjoyed Crosley.

        Jack Strong, of Monfort Heights, is a Reds season ticket holder.

        “Cinergy is vanilla,” he said. “I immediately thought this design was beautiful. The seats are lower and closer to the field. This is going to be Cincinnati's all the way. It's going to be the jewel of the riverfront.”

        Howard Wilkinson and Marie McCain contributed to this report.

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