Stadium Price Tag Rises by Millions

Mayor Anthony A. Williams names developers to oversee creation of a ballpark entertainment district near the Anacostia stadium site. (By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)

Gandhi's new estimate of $667 million is significantly higher than previous estimates and includes all infrastructure and bond financing costs. Gandhi found that the project could cost up to $713.2 million if the city is forced to build underground parking, which he did not include in the estimate released yesterday. His report noted that the city could build cheaper, surface-level parking if it changes zoning law.

In a written statement, Williams insisted that the city would borrow from Wall Street no more than the $535 million approved by the council last year. The bond fees would be paid with revenue earned for the city by the Nationals' first season and by interest earned on the bond money before it is spent on construction next year, Williams has said. The city would seek contributions from the federal government and private developers for the infrastructure costs, he added.

"The new review squares with what we've said all along -- the deal is a good one for District residents," Williams said in the statement. "I urge the Council to approve the stadium lease and reject irresponsible talk of returning to the starting line on baseball; we've come too far to return to the past."

Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), who has opposed public funding for the stadium, said he does not believe moving to the RFK location is a good solution. "Both sites are costly and both sites require too much of a contribution from the public," Fenty said. "We need to cap the spending. . . . Eliminating public investment is my goal."

In his new report, Gandhi found that the city could save $121 million in land and infrastructure costs by building near RFK. Some of those savings, however, would be offset by complications.

Gandhi added $31 million in new contingency funds for the RFK location in case the federal government, which owns the land and leases it to the city, requires the District to conduct a two-year environmental study before building. That would delay a project that is supposed to be completed by 2008, and costs could increase, Gandhi said.

Another complication of moving to the RFK site is that the District would be unable to recover some of the money spent for the Anacostia site, including $22 million for contractors and some of the money related to invoking eminent domain proceedings to seize 14 acres of land there. The city has offered those landowners a total of $98 million and probably would be stuck with land worth about $40 million, an amount Gandhi included in his RFK location estimate.

The city is required under the Baseball Stadium Agreement negotiated with baseball last year to use its "best efforts" to build the stadium at the Anacostia waterfront in time for the 2008 season. Officials at the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission said that if the city decides to build near RFK, baseball could choose to go to arbitration to recover the lost revenue, which could come to $40 million per season.

"It's very unlikely you could build the stadium in time for the 2008 season if you charted a different course," commission Chairman Mark H. Tuohey said.