By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Even before the Opening Day parade snakes through downtown this morning, hotel managers will know it's baseball season by looking at their booking scorecards.

Greater Cincinnati hotels can expect to see a $3.5 million boost in revenue from the Great American Ball Park, according to a study released Friday by the University of Cincinnati's Economic Center for Education and Research.

Downtown and riverfront hotels in Northern Kentucky will snare most of the business. But some spillover should fill suburban hotel rooms, too.

"We definitely feel there's going to be a positive impact from the opening of the Great American Ball Park," said Rob Gauthier, general manager of the Millennium Hotel.

The Millennium launched its Reds initiative a year ago, packaging game tickets with hotel stays. The venture proved successful, helping the Fifth Street hotel fill rooms during summer weekends when convention-related bookings slowed.

But Gauthier expects even more bookings this year from casual fans curious about the new ball park or regional vacationers anxious to avoid air travel because of the Iraq war.

"With the new ballpark, people have an interest in coming to the city," Gauthier said. "Also, people are a little more skittish about flying."

Leisure travel and tourism-related bookings are an increasingly important segment of Greater Cincinnati's 81,000-employee hospitality industry as businesses pare travel budgets.

The city's convention business has struggled to keep pace with competing Midwestern cities, and a 20-month boycott of downtown has prompted a handful of large, predominantly African-American meetings such as the national Urban League convention and the 8,000-delegate Progressive National Baptist Convention to cancel planned meetings.

Despite Cincinnati's struggles, some hotel managers are optimistic that the Reds stadium combined with this summer's opening of the Contemporary Arts Center will improve 2003.

"I think the newness of the ball park is going to generate some excitement," said Greg Kaylor, general manager of Crowne Plaza Hotel. "It should generate some additional business. Once we see a few games, we'll have a better indication."

The number of baseball-driven hotel bookings usually correlates with the success or popularity of the teams. Visiting teams with a strong regional fan base such as the Cubs or Pirates or even those with a strong national following - the Yankees - tend to generate more overnight stays.

Also, Reds fans come to the park in greater numbers if the home team stays in the pennant race late into the summer.

"Beyond Opening Day, a lot depends on how the Reds play," Kaylor said.

The Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau capitalized on the ball park buzz by hosting travel and tourism officials over the weekend.

The bureau invited meeting planners representing the National Rural Letter Carriers Association to watch an exhibition game between the Reds and Indians. The group is seeking a host city for its 2006 convention. The bureau hosted 10 trade and civic groups based in Ohio.

A new billboard advertisement at the stadium will promote a Web site for area hotels: www.cincyhotels.com.

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