Sharon Coolidge

USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI -- Landing the 2015 MLB All-Star Game was a coup for the region, but for Hamilton County taxpayers it will come with a $5 million price tag to fix up Great American Ball Park.

"We want to make the ballpark shine," said Hamilton County's stadium Director Joe Feldkamp. Many of the fixes on the list, he said, were being planned anyway and are just being sped up. Reds Chief Operating Officer Phil Castellini said the improvements are needed to "allow our community to be viewed in the best possible light when we have the honor of hosting the All-Star Game in 2015," he wrote in an email to the Enquirer.

The question is: Should taxpayers foot the bill to make the stadium shine or is it fine the way it is?

The All-Star costs are just part of the nearly $27 million in anticipated capital improvements ($6 million for Great American; $21.8 million for Paul Brown Stadium) over the next five years at the county-owned stadiums, outlined in a memo from the county's stadium finance expert Erica Riehl to county commissioners.

That's almost three times what the county spent to fix up the stadiums from 2008 to 2012. The biggest single item on the wish list? A high definition scoreboard for the Bengals costing at least $8 million, but required under their lease.

The spending will require approval by the three-man Hamilton County Commission, and at least one, Republican Greg Hartmann, is skeptical.

"Yes, we're going to be on national TV, but I think it's unfair to ask taxpayers to pay more than the leases call for and more than is feasible," Hartmann said. "It's great that we got the All-Star Game, but my decision won't be focused on one game."

Certainly, the All-Star Game will put Cincinnati in the national spotlight, with a potential television audience of 35 million people. In 2014, Minneapolis is expecting 160,000 out-of-town visitors as the host city for the All-Star Game. And Major League Baseball officials have estimated next year's All-Star Game could have a $75 million economic impact.

Hamilton County Board of Commissioners President Chris Monzel said he would like to negotiate with both teams, hoping they could pay for some of the improvements. As far as the Bengals' new scoreboard, he said that might cost as much as $18 million – something the county can't afford.

"We definitely need to work with the Reds in advance on some of the capital repairs to be prepared for the All-Star game," Monzel said. "At the same time, we have to be able to pay for it."

Under the teams' leases with the county, each team gets at least $1 million a year. They can spend it on maintenance or improvements or save it for bigger needs. But the county is also required to make all capital repairs at the stadium and ball park.

The memo, obtained by The Enquirer through a public records request, is the result of conversations between the teams' officials and the county's stadium staff.

A separate "2015 All-Star Game Ball Park Preparation" memo shows just what the $5 million will pay for.

The exterior needs concrete repair, painting and waterproofing. The interior needs rust removal and re-coating of metal decks. Also needed: updates to the public address, heating and air conditioning, security and fire prevention systems. The club house, press box and Diamond Club need waterproofing; the press box and other areas need new carpets and the kitchen needs new floors, according to the memo.

In 2009, the Reds cut a deal with the county when the team agreed to pay the $10 million cost of replacing Great American Ball Park's scoreboard system. Legally, they could have forced the county pay for it.

Stadium repairs are paid out of the stadium fund, which is financed with a half-cent sales tax paid by anyone who shops in Hamilton County. The fund pays for debt service, maintenance and capital projects at the stadiums, a payment to Cincinnati Public Schools in lieu of property taxes and a promised property tax rebate.

Deficits since 2010 in the stadium fund have been solved with temporary, one-year solutions, including rolling back the property tax rebate.

But in 2014, Paul Brown Stadium will be entering its 14th year of operation; Great American Ball Park its 11th year. They are, Riehl said, "aging stadiums."

A Bengals official said the team is willing to work with the county, but the lease calls for the county to buy the scoreboard and it's been part of the long-term capital plan for several years.

The lease specifically says if new technology – including a scoreboard – is installed in 14 other NFL stadiums – or seven others where public money was used to pay for it – Hamilton County taxpayers must buy the same thing for Paul Brown Stadium if the Bengals request it.

The Bengals say that's happened; the county is researching whether that's true.

"We go through the budget process every year and there have been lots of things in the capital plan," said Bob Bedinghaus, director of business development for the Bengals. "We've worked with the county in the past and we'll continue work with the county this year."

Sharon Coolidge also writes for the Cincinnati Enquirer, a Gannett property.