Baseball officials, who are trying to sell the Washington Nationals, oppose the council's new plan because the uncertain nature of the private financing structure could lower the team's sale price. The pact Williams negotiated with baseball in September calls for the stadium to be funded largely through a gross receipts tax on large city businesses.
Cropp said she would be willing to reconsider the legislation Tuesday during the council's final meeting of the year if baseball officials give her new commitments to lower costs.
D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) talks baseball at his weekly news briefing, during which he said the deal with Major League Baseball was in "great, great jeopardy."
(Preston Keres -- The Washington Post)
|
|
But if the legislation holds, baseball officials could decide to move the Nationals to another city immediately or after the team plays next season at RFK. Other regions that have sought a team include Northern Virginia; Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; and Monterrey, Mexico.
"They mean what they say," Jerry McMorris, a part owner of the Colorado Rockies and a member of baseball's executive council, said of DuPuy's public statement. "The commissioner and Bob DuPuy were mighty unhappy."
Baseball has been trying to sell the franchise for two years. Owners voted 29 to 1 on Dec. 3 to approve the relocation of the franchise from Montreal to Washington after being assured by Williams that the original stadium financing package would be approved intact by the council.
Williams did not speak with Cropp yesterday, but his aides met with Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), the council's most ardent stadium backer, to talk strategy. They discussed trying to find a strong private financing option that would give Cropp confidence that some private money will be added in the spring.
With that confidence, Cropp might agree to amend the legislation, stipulating that the original financing structure could be used if all else fails, mayoral aides said. The language might convince baseball that a stadium will be built.
Evans said he believes that a compromise will be reached. "I'm not pessimistic at all," he said. "I'm very confident we can work through this and we'll have baseball here."
Reached after DuPuy's statement, Evans said: "They had to say something and they can't say they accept what we did. They didn't say, 'We're leaving.' They just had a little show of force, a little muscle. . . . I'm glad they put their position out there."
Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), one of the council's most vociferous stadium opponents, said that Major League Baseball "is not going to walk. They don't have anywhere else to go. One, they already looked everywhere else. No one else was financially feasible. . . . They set up a store, sold tickets and they have [RFK] stadium."
Cropp could not be reached for comment after DuPuy's statement was released. Earlier, she stressed that she believes private financing can work because the council already has had more than a dozen proposals for private financing, including at least two that she believes have potential. One plan would allow a company to charge motorists to park along streets around the stadium and use revenue from the company to pay off bonds up to $100 million.
The council's legislation instructs Natwar M. Gandhi, the city's chief financial officer, to solicit bids for private financing proposals and forward any plan that is certified to the council for consideration. If a financing plan is not approved by the council by June, the stadium project would die.
Baseball officials said the league had not had direct contact with Cropp since a Board of Trade luncheon early this month, where Cropp sat next to Selig and had a brief conversation afterward with McHale.
At his news conference, Williams compared the deal with baseball to a promise to a major retailer or other business considering relocating to the city. In past years, the mayor said, the District has broken such promises, but its recent economic renaissance has been fueled by living up to such commitments.
"I am deeply troubled that we can go so far in five years and step back so far in five minutes," Williams said. "In the end, we didn't keep our commitment. . . . We have 10 to 15 days to keep this alive. I am deeply committed to keeping this alive."
Staff writer Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.
