D.C. Council to Vote on Stadium Cost Cap

During its breakfast meeting today, the council debated the nature of its spending cap. Cropp asked the council to approve a cap that limited the costs of labor and materials to $320 million -- which includes a $20 million payment baseball officials have promised. She also wants to cap the "soft costs" of the stadium -- including architects fees and insurance -- at about $68 million to $75 million.

However, some members said they remained worried about the city's exposure on buying 14 acres of land for the project. The city has offered a total of $98 million to the property owners, but the costs could rise because many owners are fighting the city in court over the value of the land. The problem with trying to cap those costs, council members said, is that the court could decide the sale price.

Council legislative aides were re-drafting the spending cap this morning in an effort to meet members' concerns before the vote, Cropp said.

The legislation, Cropp said, would cap the city's payments for labor and materials for the ballpark at $300 million, along with an additional $20 million that MLB promised in December. Williams (D) offered the same cap last week, but council members said the mayor's cap has loopholes.

The council is also considering capping the project's entire cost at between $589 million and $630 million, council members said. Emergency legislation would require nine votes among the council's 13 members for approval.

"The key will be how they write the provision," mayoral spokesman Vince Morris said. "If they write it in such a way that they attempt to undo what we already agreed to [with baseball officials], then we'll have problems. But if they come up with something that strengthens what we already agreed to, then there's no problem, and we can go forward."

Cropp told her colleagues during a closed-door debate yesterday that by approving a cap and the stadium lease, the council would pressure baseball to either accept the deal or reject it, council members said. But Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and others said they were concerned about the legal ramifications of signing off on a lease contingent on a cap created by the council.

The lease agreement is critical to the future of the stadium, which is scheduled to be built near South Capitol Street SE and the Navy Yard along the Anacostia River. The council was supposed to vote on the lease in December, but Williams asked Cropp to withdraw the document from consideration because he lacked majority support. Members have expressed concern about the rising cost, which has increased from $535 million to about $667 million.

Major League Baseball has filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association, which assigned former Detroit mayor Dennis W. Archer to mediate the standoff. Archer's involvement ended two weeks ago when Williams submitted a revised stadium lease to the council that contained new commitments from baseball officials. Among those was a promise to help fund a youth academy in the District.

If the council does not approve the lease today, baseball officials might choose to pursue full arbitration, which could take up to six months to resolve.

With the lease agreement in limbo, several other critical elements related to the Washington Nationals and the construction of the stadium are being held up. For example, Major League Baseball has delayed the sale of the franchise to an ownership group.

The council met for more than two hours yesterday behind closed doors with Bynoe, the consultant from DLA Piper Rudnick. Although Williams had submitted documentation last week that he said capped the ballpark costs, Bynoe told council members that the plan contained potential loopholes, members said.