By John Erardi
and Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There will be no Reds Hall of Fame and Museum this summer, and even September looks like a long shot. Sometime in 2005 is when it will probably be opened.

"I'd be flabbergasted if it didn't open in '05 - but never say never in construction projects," Reds chief operating officer John Allen said Wednesday.

"This is Reds funding" of $10 million to $12 million, he said. "It isn't taxpayers' money. We're on the hook for it, and how we (go about) raising those funds is obviously a factor, also."

Originally, the Hall of Fame and Museum was supposed to be ready for Opening Day 2004, then was pushed back to midsummer, then the fall.

"I'm a little skeptical about saying this September, because funding is so important and we want to do it right," Allen said.

The shell of the building, which will be completed by Opening Day, is part of the ballpark and is paid for as part of the $250 million share of the stadium covered by tax dollars. The Reds have to pay for the guts of the museum. It's part of the Reds' budget, and right now there isn't enough money to cover it.

"I don't want to take any shortcuts," Allen said. "You may not be able to get everything you want up front, but we'll have the space and structure to do it right."

He said fans will already be getting an eyeful of new additions when the ballpark reopens this season:

• Main Street will be open down to the river.

• The first-base concourse will be eight feet wider.

• There will be a fan thoroughfare behind the concession stands to take fans to and from the Sun Deck/Moon Deck in right field.

• The fan zone will be open (interactive games, picnic area, bandstand).

• There will be about 400 additional parking spots and a parking garage at the Freedom Center.

But it is the Hall of Fame and Museum that is the crown jewel of Phase 2. The Reds note that Cincinnati is the "Home of Professional Baseball" - dating to the first pro team in 1869 - and, basically, the museum is the franchise's display case.

"People will see the (exterior of the Hall of Fame and Museum) and know it's coming," Allen said.

The team should get the shell of the building from Hamilton County by Opening Day. But it will be July before a retail store opens on the first level of the building, said Declan Mullin, the Reds' senior director of ballpark operations.

The timetable for the museum is up to the Reds, since the club is paying for it, said Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune.

The Reds are mindful that any cost overruns beyond $250 million have to be borne by them. The Reds' deal was to contribute $30 million besides the $250 million covered by taxpayers. That's why the big-ticket items aren't being fast-tracked. That includes the retail store.

"I don't want to pay a lot of overtime and additional costs to have it ready by Opening Day," Allen said. "Sure, you'd like to have it ready, but not if you incur significant additional costs."

The Hall of Fame and Museum is part of Phase 2 of the $280 million ballpark construction, which will finish the block. It includes several new entrances to Great American, including one through a breezeway that will lead fans with tickets directly onto the plaza. The plaza will be turned into an entertainment area, under design now by the Reds and Cincinnati's Jack Rouse Associates.

The total cost of Phase 2 is $30.6 million. That's the county's cost to finish the plaza concrete, the second half of the parking garage now accessible off Mehring Way, and the shell of the Hall of Fame and Museum building.

Private collectors in possession of the high-end pieces that date to the franchise's roots in 1869 said Wednesday that it isn't feasible for the Reds to have those pieces in hand and showcased before this season is over.

"The fall? That'd be tough," said Steve Wolter, owner of Sports Investments Inc. in Montgomery. "Those items would have to be worked into an overall display plan, and that will take awhile. They haven't even put out the word yet (to high-end collectors) about what items they'd like (to borrow and display)."

There is not a lot of "stuff" from 1869, Wolter said. Some of it is in town, some of it out of town.

The Reds "have enough stuff to open a nice museum right now, but the question is how much prewar stuff - 1869, the 1919 World Championship and the 1939-40 team (National League pennant and World Championship, respectively) - will come in for later," Wolter said.