By Sharon Turco
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott is asking a judge to get her better seats at Great American Ball Park.

Schott filed a lawsuit Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court against Great American Insurance Co. in which she says the company did not honor an agreement for seats and use of a private box at the new Reds stadium.

Schott sold her majority share of the Reds in 1999 to Great American, whose chairman is Carl H. Lindner.

She says she was promised a private box and 21 premium seats next to the field.

In the fall she learned her seats in the new stadium are not adjacent to the field, nor was she given a private box. Her seats are in Section 128, Rows 34 to 36, and she must share use of the owner's box, said her attorney, Mark Wasserman.

A family spokesman released a statement saying Schott has been treated unfairly.

"To us, this is a disgrace for a 75-year-old woman who saved baseball in Cincinnati and who has given so much to keep the zoo, Boy Scouts and other Cincinnati institutions financially sound," the statement said. "We just wish Mr. Lindner and Great American would live up to their word and spirit of their agreement."

Lindner declined comment, but the Reds released a statement:

"Not only are these benefits not included in the agreement, but they are greater than any benefit provided to any other Reds owner.

"We are confident that the matter will be resolved quickly in our favor by the court."

E-mail sturco@enquirer.com