Nats Bidders Told Not to Offer Funds

To cover the rising costs of the stadium project, the Williams administration is seeking contributions from the federal government. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said yesterday that he spoke to Cropp recently about possible federal funds for expanding the Navy Yard Metro station.

"Whatever the city decides, they will have our support," Davis said.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said she has not been contacted by city officials about funding the Metro station expansion, even though she serves on a House transportation panel. She said pursuing congressional financing for a particular project is neither a quick nor easy proposition.

Mendelson was one of several council members who were told last week by council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) that D.C. entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky, who is among the bidders, had agreed to cover stadium overruns if he were awarded the team.

Barry said he brokered the deal with Ledecky as a way to find a solution to the council's concerns about the stadium, in hopes that his colleagues would then approve the stadium lease deal with baseball. Barry said he told baseball officials that eight members would block the lease unless Ledecky was named as the Nationals' owner.

Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), one of the members whom Barry counted among the eight, said yesterday she never met with Ledecky nor did she tell Barry what her plans were for the vote.

"Marion Barry never talked to me about any plan to help any potential owner," Schwartz said. "My only contact with Marion about this issue was his calling me several times to ask me how I was going to vote and my not answering that specific question."

The negotiations broke down when baseball officials told Ledecky to make no offers, according to Barry and other council members.

But on Monday, Franklin Haney, a developer with homes in Tennessee and Washington and a bidder for the Nationals, visited the council to renew his offer, made last month, to cover cost overruns in exchange for development rights on land near the stadium. Sources with knowledge of the discussion said Haney was invited by council members.

In a brief interview as he walked through the District building Monday, Haney said he was not violating the "gag order" because baseball had allowed him to visit city hall.

During his visit, Haney wrote a $100 million check to demonstrate that his offer is firm, said Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7). Haney also gave Gray a letter promising $250,000 to establish a baseball academy for youth in his ward if Haney were awarded the team. Gray tried but failed to convince Major League Baseball to establish the academy.

The three front-runners to buy the team are the Bethesda-based Lerner family, which owns and operates a Washington real estate empire; a group of Washington businessmen led by Frederic V. Malek and Jeffrey Zients; and Jeffrey Smulyan, an Indianapolis businessman.

Staff writer Eric M. Weiss contributed to this report.