Bill Cunningham, the great American of course. Tonight, Reds Baseball kicks off about five forty with the torpedo Bat, and Dela Cruz is at the forefront hitting a massive home runs a seven RBI and also almost shit for the cycle again last night with two home runs, and the Red Legs beat up on the Rangers fourteen to three, which means the Rangers I think kicked a field goal late.
And that's about it. The Reds are impregnable. Joanan you and I now is the editor of The Inquiry, Burrow Love and Burrow, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And first of all, before we talk about the half a cent stadium tax not nearly as sexy as the torpedo bat, can you write a column in the Inquiry about the torpedo bat and the impact that's going to have on the Reds.
I don't think I'm going to write a column, but we probably have about three torpedo bat stories in the works already, in addition to the one we had after last night's game. You know, we're on our high school player is going to all of a sudden show up with these things like this could be a this.
Could be an interesting time to be a baseball fan.
You know, I played the game through xavior and all that stuff, and I guess no one had thought for one hundred and fifty years about taking some of the weight and size of the wooden bat and move it down three or four inches from the end to make it look like a bowling pin and put the mass where the ball hits the bat actually where it matters. You hit one off the handle, off the end, nothing happens.
But if you take the sixty eight inches where the action takes place and make that little more hefty number one, it helps with foul tips, which means instead of missing the pitch by sixteenth of an inch, you might foul tip it stay at the plate. And secondly, the ball goes further. And baseball, as you may know, is a very old sport, going back to eighteen sixty nine. But I would hope the guy that designed this thing, this physicist, whoever he is associated with the Yankees, is making money
off the deal. And if you think it works, it works. If you don't think it doesn't work, it does. But isn't this also, though, bad for rede pitching, because the Reds are gonna have to pitch against it.
I know it's well, yeah, I mean it's going to be the equalizer. But I just go back to, you know, the late great Pete Rose. There was this great video of him giving tips to kids on how the bat. And I remember because I watched it when I was a kid and I was a little leaguer and we didn't have custom bats like the kids do today. The coach brought this duffel bag and dumped it out, and you picked the best one that wasn't cracked or whatever.
But he would talk about, you know, if they're pitching you in, you want the fat part of the bat to hit the ball. Step back. If they're pitching you outside, step forward. So I don't understand it. Like I the objective has always been to put the fat part of the bat on the ball.
And so yeah, anyway, why it hasn't happened, I know, Well all of us know very little because Baseball doesn't know. It took him about one hundred and sixty years and figure that out. But I don't understand it. But if it works, it works. Now, let's talk about a column. You haven't the inquir you're the editor. If tax money is in play. Taxpayers need to know who's behind the
arena push. We passed this levee in nineteen ninety six, and it was a half a cent increase in perpetuity to build and maintain two stadiums, the Great American Ballpark I think named after me at least in my mind, and also Paid Course Stadium. And suddenly there's entities in Cincinnati that want to expand that to the Heritage Bank Center. Tell me what's going on with that, because once again we're talking about some serious money.
Serious money. Well, you said entities, and that's what's.
At the you know the gist of my column. So a group came out called the Hambleton County Growth Alliance and have pitched this idea that some of the sales tax money that was, as you mentioned, passed by voters in ninety six to fund the two stadiums that we enjoy right now should be used to also fund a brand new arena. There's a guy well known in political circles named Jake and Kid who's the head of this alliance.
He's a lobbyist, a political consultant. He ran John Cranley's campaign and I believe worked as his chief of staff. So he's the director of this alliance. Uh, the question is who's behind it, who started it, who's funding it? That's that's the big question, and he won't say. So I was beating up my reporters when we first did this story. I was like, you guys got to find out. You know, who's paying for this? Where's the money? Follow
the money? And he's not saying. And he doesn't really have to say because the Hamlet of Gounty Growth Alliance is a five oh one C four, which is different than a C three in that they don't have to disclose who their donors are. So that's the big question, like who's behind it? Who is behind this initiative? To use some of that sales tax money to build a new arena is illegal?
In other words, i'd have to read the battle language from some thirty years ago. But that is specifically limited to baseball and football, or did it include this other arena.
It was specifically for a new stadium for the Reds and a new stadium for the Bengals.
So how does Heritage Bank Arena come into this deal? Then?
Well, this group funded a survey and what they would like to do is eventually get this in front of voters. I think because their survey said that. I think they surveyed four hundred people and asked, how do you prioritize the need, you know, for a new arena versus upgrades for the two existing stadiums, and I think it was sixty seven percent said, you know, we prioritize. We think a new arena should be on the list ahead of now. Again the survey, yeah, four hundred people. Yeah, I don't
know who you know. I'm not questioning the survey, but I want to know who paid for the survey. Because I've made the point of my column. I can go online. I enjoy a glass of bourbon every now and then, and I can go online and find studies that say, you know, a glass of bourbon a day, or drinking bourbon and moderation is good for your health. Those are also published by distilleries. So that's so, you know, I think it's relevant, is the point I'm trying to make.
And even though it's a five oh one C four and they're not legally obligated to disclose their donors, I think if they're suggesting that the sales tax, which we all pay, be used for an arena that they should They shouldn't hide behind the five ole one C four. I'm all about transparency.
That's you know.
As editor, they enquire. We fight for people's right to know, and I think this is pretty relevant.
I would think the Banks is behind it. I think Jim Mooring's a good man. I think Tracey is behind it. I think those involved in the Banks would likely to be there.
Now.
I'm told by other entities in town, and I'm sure you're ware of this, that TQL and the Soccer franchise would love to have that arena right next to them. In fact, you know that they've done their studies. Indicator should be off the river and should be over there, largely privately financed, and whoever pays for the band calls the tune. And so whether it's one place or the other, it's the final piece of downtown development with the Duke
Energy Center doing what it's doing and the renaissance of downtown. Yes, we need an arena where you can bring in these acts. But have you also heard the TQL Stadium and the owners of the of the soccer franchise FC would love to have that arena next to them.
Well, I think that's an intriguing part of this story in terms of, you know, who is actually behind the hamlet the ground County Growth Alliance, Because you know, you mentioned our good friend Jim Morning, I call him the mayor of the Banks, the proprietor for the Holy Grail.
I think he and other businesses in the Banks would definitely advocate for a new arena in the current area so that you have year round entertainment when you know, the Bengals only have what eight home games and then you know the baseball season runs in the in the warm months. That having having a state of the art arena possibly bringing in you know, we we lost out to Indianapolis for the NCUBA basketball tournament.
He wanted to go.
See the Sweet sixteen. You were, you know, driving west on seventy four. So there's all kinds of possibilities if we have a state of the art arena. But yes, the master plan for the development around TQL Stadium north on the west end includes you know, residential other entertainment facilities, and you could make an argument that that would be a nice feather in the cap for everybody it's concerned with FC Cincinnati, So interestingly, I asked Jake and Kate,
I said, so we won't say who they are. Can you give me an idea of how what kind of support you have? Is it twenty business leaders, is it ten or is it one? And he said, I'm not in a position to say that. So I think and this is just me, Now, this is just me. I think that if it was a large group of business leaders, he would have no problems saying that if it's one, if it's if it's one person with deep pockets, then he's less likely to say, you know that it's it's
a small group or it's one group. So that might indicate it could be people who are concerned with all the development around TQL Stadium.
But that's just me, that's just me.
You know, the big boys in town. Tracy Schwegman, et cetera. She wants it down on the banks and once and again, if Karl Linder and that group Megan et cetera want to pay over half the price, it's going to be next to the t QUL Stadium. But one thing you said concerns me, and that is that the people may have to vote on this if there's if this issue gets to the ballot in Hamilton County about sales tax increases for this or that that that dog won't hunt.
My example is a Kansas City Chiefs about a year or two ago, they wanted to build a brand new stadium and this is this is at the highlights of Patrick Mahomes, et cetera. And it's like sixty percent said no.
Yeah.
After they won the Super Bowl, they went to voters thinking this is going to be, you know, an easy one to pass.
It's just a it's just a totally.
Different economy right now in terms of where we were twenty five years ago and where we are now these stadium developments, and this is where the Hamlin County Commission I think, especially Lisa Reese is, you know, that's her position, like we're not going to shoulder this, you know, pay ninety seven or ninety four percent of the cost of these renovations as they work on the lease agreements that the team is going to have to come forward and
or the NFL and or other municipalities, because the Bengals are a driver and an economic driver, not just for Hamlin County, but you know the whole region. And so yes, I think that's the last thing that Bengals would want if he goes before the voters. No, we kind of we kind of know where the voters.
Are right now.
That they're billionaires. Mike Brown, according to Forbes, is worth about six billion dollars, and the owners of the Reds are worth billions of dollars. And God blessed Karl Linder and his family and Meg Whitman, they're worth billions of dollars. So to go to the Tony Bender types of live in Green Township and say we want you to pay taxes at Macy's so that these stadium owners can make more money, there's a good chance that dog won't hunt.
I mean, I agree with you, Like I said, it's it's you know, whether you whether you believe these studies are not pall around stadium now pay Corse Stadium has the.
You know, the the.
Infamous reputation of being one of the worst stadium deals in terms of ever, Yeah, in terms of the impact on governments and tax payers, right and and so you know that's not going to happen again, And it's not to your point, it's not happening anywhere in the country
right now. Private money needs to be raised and and so yeah, so it's it's an interesting thought twist in the saga of what are we going to do with our existing stadiums to bring up the idea that the sales tax should be used also to fund a new arena.
So you know, so and which gets back to you.
Know, I, and I made it clear, like my my role as edited inquire, you know, I played straight down the middle. We have to do everything we can to be objective and balanced, and so, you know, I personally think it's a great idea. We should figure out how to come up with a new arena. But I'm not
going to get into the political debate about it. I will stand up for the taxpayer's right to know, you know, if somebody is suggesting that these tax dollars get used in that way, I would hope that they would do it transparently so we can have, you know, the proper debate about it and not hide behind a five oh one C four.
Yeah. So that's where I sit.
Well, at the end of the day, if TQL with the lenders and the whitman's and billionaires want to put up half the money and on the banks, God bless them. At Jim Mooring and Tracy Schwegman. They don't have an extra five hundred million dollars sitting around. Someone's got to pay for it. I haven't asked the Reds this, but I would imagine they would not mind having Heritage Bank Arena go away to give them more space for their for their for their ballpark. I would imagine that's the case.
And but anyway, let's see what happens down the road. And of course, when you have Jay kin Kid, who I know him. He's a great political consultant. The reason is at C four so he doesn't have to disclose. So when the inquiry asked, by the way, who's paying for this thing, he's not going to disclose it. At least Jeff Birding is upfront saying we want it, We're going to want to put it there, and they're willing
to participate. I'm willing to bet on those who want to put up money into the dealer supposed to those who don't. And I know that Dreehouse and Doumas have both said that this doesn't have to go before the voters, and they're right that the half a cent increase nineteen ninety six does not have to go before the voters because they know the outcome. And so you know when when Reese says, you know what, we want to vote on this thing, those other two are going to say no, and then where are we?
That is a good question.
I think that's you know we, that's this whole that's a this is already complicated enough. Yeah, so this is, like I said, this is adding another dimension. So yeah, be interesting for sure.
All Right, we got to run. But once again, Burrow Love, editor of the inquir thanks for coming on the Bill Cunningham Show. Give my best to the best city hall reporter ever. And you're losing a good one there. And she's going to go work for the Prosecutor's office. But always loved working with her over the years. And I saw her the.
Other I was hoping that was a big April Fool's Day joke, but it's not. Yes, Verry Coolidge has left us to go work for Connie Pillach.
We're excited for her, though, sure, all right, very excited for her. Burro Love, thank you very much, Thank you, thank you. Bill.
Let's continue with more. One thing you don't want to do is let the tax bearers decide how to spend their money. You don't want to do that because you know what that's going to be. And maybe billionaires should pay for their own plate pens. Of course, that's my opinion. Let's continue with more Bill Cunningham. Should I do the morning show starting on Monday? News Radio seven hundred WULW,