Baseball Offers more than just Hot-Dog Jobs for the Community but is a better deal a good deal??
The baseball deal approved by the D.C.
Council yesterday significantly limits the penalties the District will
face if construction of a stadium takes longer than expected. And it
encourages adoption of financing options that could pump $100 million
or more into the stadium project from private-sector sources. But the
only guaranteed savings for the city, compared to what was submitted to
the council by Mayor Anthony A. Williams more than two months ago, is
an agreement to split the cost of insurance premiums -- estimated to be
at least $4 million -- with the owner of the Washington Nationals,
according to officials involved in the negotiating the deal. City
officials secured the changes in last-minute talks with Major League
Baseball that stretched late into the night Monday, reviving the deal
after D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp amended the package to
require private financing for half the stadium cost -- an amendment
that baseball officials had angrily called a deal-breaker. Critics of
the deal, which passed the council on a vote of 7 to 6, applauded Cropp
for wresting some concessions. However, they said they were
disappointed that neither Major League Baseball nor the future team
owners would have to pay a significant portion of the project costs.
"These are relatively minor savings in a bill that could cost upward of
$600 million," said Ed Lazere, director of the D.C. Fiscal Policy
Institute and a leading opponent of a publicly financed stadium. "The
new concessions from Major League Baseball were not enough to persuade
the six reluctant members of the council that this was a good deal for
the District." Under the new legislation, Major League Baseball agreed
to pay half the cost of insuring the stadium project against most
construction delays and problems arising from weather-related or other
natural events. [more]
Pictured above: Signs posted all over Downtown DC - "Stop the $440 Million Stadium Giveaway." Washington D.C. is a 60% Black city.
Poll Sees Split on Stadium Funding
District residents are closely divided on the future of the Washington
Nationals, with slightly more than half supporting private financing
for a new stadium even if such a requirement means losing the team,
according to a new Washington Post survey. The survey found that 56
percent of those interviewed favored requiring private funding to pay
for half the cost of building a stadium. Nearly as many -- 53 percent
-- backed the D.C. Council's amendment even if it proved to be a
deal-breaker with Major League Baseball. [more]
