Baseball Official Reiterates Investment Vow

Ward 7 Tour Highlights Recreation Needs

John McHale Jr., executive vice president for Major League Baseball, stood in the batter's box yesterday afternoon and surveyed the playing field.

There were broken floodlights, a busted set of bleachers and nary a base in sight. A simple dirt patch marked the pitcher's mound.

"You've got a lot to work with here," McHale declared, optimistically. "You could do a lot with this if you do a little landscaping, some grading, put in some fencing and benches."

McHale, who helped negotiate the return of professional baseball to the District, was at a dilapidated park next to the Kenilworth Courts housing development in Northeast, as a guest of D.C. Council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), who was conducting a tour for McHale and representatives of the Washington Nationals.

The Kenilworth field is part of a larger city-operated complex that is sometimes used by the 1,200 or so youths from the development, neighborhood leader Denise Stanley told McHale. But more often, she said, kids do not have enough organized activities and wind up doing nothing or getting into trouble.

"We're in need of a lot of recreation," Stanley said wistfully. "There used to be a rec center here before, but they tore it down."

This meeting was arranged by John Ray, a former council member, and his assistant Tina Ang, who have been hired by baseball officials to try to repair relations between the league and some city leaders after the fractious political debate last fall over the arrival of the Nationals.

Some council members, reflecting the views of community activists, objected fiercely to the city's commitment to fund a $535 million stadium project largely by using public money. Although Gray took office in January, he and two other new members, Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large), have joined others on the council in expressing opposition to the public financing.

"If they want baseball in the District, [baseball officials] need to be part of the community," Gray said yesterday. "They need to demonstrate their commitment to D.C. . . . If we see them doing something meaningful, then we'd be a lot more receptive to investing in a stadium."

For baseball officials, convincing council members that the Nationals can bring new investment to neighborhoods through more youth leagues and upgraded fields and facilities is crucial. The council will probably vote within the next month on a new stadium financing package. It is unclear how many plan to vote against it, and baseball officials are hoping that political negotiations do not delay the project.

"We negotiated hard, but that time is over," McHale said of the stadium financing package agreement struck by baseball and Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) in September. He added that baseball hopes to improve its image with detractors by showing that "we can be a force for the positive."

Last fall, Major League Baseball pledged $100,000 to help renovate the Fort Greble field in Ward 8. A groundbreaking ceremony for that project is set for May 17. Nationals community relations director Barbra Silva said a team partnership with D.C. public schools will be launched soon. But McHale made no additional specific promises yesterday.

Gray is far from satisfied. He is eyeing Major League Baseball's new $9 million youth academy in Compton, Calif., with hopes that a similar program can be accomplished for Ward 7. The academy, which is set to open in August, will provide baseball instruction, as well as academic and vocational training, baseball officials said.

Jimmie Lee Solomon, the senior vice president for baseball operations who is overseeing the academy, lives in the District. He said in a phone interview yesterday that he considered Ward 7 in the District as well as several other cities when he was seeking sites for the academy two years ago. He said he still hopes an academy can be built in the District.

During the tour, McHale, wearing a houndstooth sports coat, gray trousers and a gold knit tie, appeared dressed for his New York office rather than overgrown playing fields. He sometimes joked as he talked with community activists, including Crystal McCray, a Benning Terrace resident who told him that neighborhood youth play on organized teams for football and basketball -- but not baseball.

"One of the biggest things missing here is a place where these kids can go," said McCray, standing on a nearby field where the baseball diamond featured broken bleachers and a rusted backstop.

"We will be significantly investing in this community," McHale told her. "From what I understand, they don't need it in Northwest. We need to get in here and learn what needs to be done. We want to be part of this community."

McCray smiled.

"Come on in," she said. "Everybody, come on in."