Officials Submit Revised Stadium Lease Agreement

District officials submitted a revised baseball stadium lease agreement to the D.C. Council this afternoon that they said includes new commitments from Major League Baseball.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) also was expected to deliver a letter to the council with additional promises that would help protect the city against potential cost overruns, his aides said.

The council is scheduled to vote Feb. 7 on the lease agreement, which is critical to the construction of a stadium near Navy Yard and South Capitol Street along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington.

The council was supposed to vote on the lease last month, but Williams asked Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp to pull it from consideration because he did not have enough support among the 13 members. Several have said they would not support the lease because they feared the city would be forced to cover potential cost overruns. Although the council approved a budget of $535 million in 2004, recent estimates by city financial officials put the price at $667 million.

The revised lease includes a promise from baseball to help fund the creation of a youth academy in the District and to provide more free tickets to disadvantaged children. Another change is that the Washington Nationals must pay 50 percent of its annual rent at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium if the team is forced to play there because a new stadium fails to open in 2008.

Williams's letter is expected to contain other pledges that are designed to protect the city against cost overruns.

The city will be able to sell development rights on land near the stadium to help pay for construction. City officials have said they have a commitment from the federal government to help pay for upgrades to the Navy Yard Metro Station.

Also, the city is negotiating a "guaranteed maximum price" contract with the three construction companies that will build the stadium. Under that agreement, the companies would guarantee that the ballpark would be built for a set price, around $300 million, according to sources. In return, the builders would gain greater control of the construction process from the city.