Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) said the city shouldn't raise taxes for baseball when it hasn't done so for other priorities.
"Schools, libraries, you name it. We haven't raised taxes. In some cases, we've lowered taxes," Fenty said. "So for the council and the mayor to come forward and say we're going to raise taxes for baseball sends the complete wrong signal to the citizens of the District of Columbia."
Kwame R. Brown, who last week won the Democratic nomination to replace at-large council member Harold Brazil, said he would not vote to raise taxes for a ballpark under any circumstances.
"I want baseball. I just don't want to pay for it," Brown said. "I don't think the public should have to pay for a stadium."
Baseball, on the other hand, has insisted on it, telling cities vying to be the new home of the financially struggling Expos that they should be prepared to pony up. This spring, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) responded with an offer to use tax dollars to build a ballpark at one of four sites near the capital city's thriving downtown.
Today in Milwaukee, a relocation committee formed to decide the Expos' fate is likely to recommend that the team be moved to the District, according to high-level baseball sources.
"We expect a full presentation by the relocation committee to the full executive council," said Robert A. DuPuy, president of Major League Baseball.
A source said the executive council is not expected to reach a decision today.
The sources cautioned that no deal has been reached and that obstacles remain, chief among them Angelos. He has said that moving the Expos to the District would steal fans and profits from the Orioles, who play 35 miles up the road.
Baseball officials "just started" talking to Angelos about the possibility of compensating him for any loss, according to the baseball official. It was unclear what steps Angelos would take if the Expos move to Washington, the official said.
Over the past few weeks, baseball officials have met in marathon sessions with representatives from the mayor's office and the D.C. sports commission to hammer out the terms of a deal for a stadium. They settled on the financing package that administration officials presented first to council members on Tuesday and then to business and civic leaders in meetings yesterday.
With Mayor Williams attending an auto show in Paris, Deputy Mayor Eric W. Price and other officials led the briefings. Those in attendance included representatives from the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce and the Federal City Council.
Richard Bradley, executive director of the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, attended one session. He said the city had been keeping details "close to the vest" until this week, when Price and other officials appealed for support.
Bradley said business leaders seemed inclined to support the package, but most declined to comment on it, saying they need to hear more.
