The prototype seat for Great American Ball Park. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        Hamilton County officials opened bids by three companies vying to install 42,000 seats — which will be colored green and cost a mint — in Great American Ball Park.

        Hussey Seating Co., of Maine, was the apparent low bidder at $3.4 million. The next lowest bid was $700,000 more.

        Clark Mleynek, a project architect for HOK Sport, said the majority of the seats will be 19 inches wide and a team logo will be on the metal pole holding up the seat on each aisle.

        Seats in more expensive sections — such as luxury boxes and “diamond club” areas — will be wider and have padding.

Team logo will be on the metal pole on each aisle. | ZOOM |

        “Green is a traditional color in baseball stadiums,” Mr. Mleynek said. “The color is intended to draw on that tradition.”

        The seats will look similar to those in Paul Brown Stadium, where 66,000 seats cost $5.4 million.

        Seats in Cinergy Field were always different colors, corresponding to various sections of the stadium. Before that, the seats in Crosley Field also had a variety of colors, but they depended on the era.

        The seats in Crosley were most often red, or various shades of blue.

        “It could vary, depending on what color paint was on sale,” said Bill Lawrence, a longtime Reds fan and Crosley Field expert.

        The Hussey bid came in well under the $4.1 million estimate set by construction manager Hunt Construction.

        Mike Sieving, the county's construction executive, said he is pleased. Dozens of seats were evaluated before they asked companies to prepare bids.

        “We went through a very thorough review,” Mr. Sieving said. “I can't think of anything more important from a fan's perspective. They're made for comfort, and we got very competitive bids.”

        All seats will have cup holders and flat backs to simulate the wooden seats in old time ballparks. Most of the seats will be facing straight ahead, but about 20 percent will be angled slightly, giving fans in those areas a better view toward home plate.

        The $320 million ballpark is scheduled to be ready for Opening Day, 2003.

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