A Warm Welcome, and a Wish List

By Eric M. Weiss and Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 4, 2006

Major League Baseball's decision to sell the Washington Nationals to Bethesda developer Theodore N. Lerner was greeted with pledges of cooperation from District politicians yesterday, including some who had supported other bidders and criticized the Lerner group's commitment to diversity.

Hours after MLB announced the new owners, a majority of the council joined community leaders and fans in putting together a long wish list of what the Lerners could do to improve the franchise, from providing better hot dogs at RFK Stadium to contributing $20 million to pay for underground parking at the publicly funded stadium to be built along the Anacostia River.

If the Lerners, who have agreed to pay $450 million for the team, and city leaders, who approved spending $611 million for the stadium complex, are in an arranged marriage, then yesterday was a day for the two groups to get acquainted. And get acquainted they did.

D.C. Council members Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who 48 hours earlier had accused the Lerners of "renting'' minority investors to win their bid, joined the new owners on stage at a news conference last night at the Fairmont hotel, shaking hands, smiling and posing for the cameras.

Barry said his views had changed based on "what appears to be meaningful African American participation" in the Lerner group. He said his earlier criticism had been part of a strategy "to raise the issue." With the Lerner family just steps away, Barry said he had won "a great victory."

Orange praised the Lerner group. "I like what I see here today," he said. Still, he suggested, the owners should expand the number of minority investors. Even before the news conference, Orange said the issue facing the city is "how we win the World Series and pack the stands."

After speaking with Lerner yesterday, Williams issued a written statement saying, "I firmly believe he will make an excellent owner and a good partner."

Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4), a stadium opponent and mayoral candidate, said he expects city leaders and the Lerners to quickly establish a good working relationship.

"There's too much to gain for everybody, even though the process wasn't the greatest," Fenty said. "It's a great time for a new fresh start. We need to get momentum back for the Nationals."

Fenty said, "I hope they're going to pitch in -- no pun intended -- with many of the unforeseen costs that will likely come up and will authentically assist the city in building the stadium."

Around the city and at last night's game at RFK, fans' views about the new owners were mixed.

"I couldn't be happier,'' said Colin Mills, president of the Nats Fan Club. "The Lerner family is going to do a wonderful job. They will start marketing in the city and repairing the PR problems from all the off-season wrangling.''

D.C. police officer Louis Garibay, who attended the first baseball game of his life at RFK last season, was also optimistic about Lerner but had reservations about the influence of minority partners in the group. "I would like to see more diversity to show the diversity of the city," he said.

But it will probably take longer to soften the views of season ticket holder John Capozzi, who opposes a publicly financed stadium. He said MLB bullied the city, and he fumed that he can't get Nationals games on cable TV.

"Do you remember that movie, 'Wall Street,' with Gordon Gecko? The guy who said, 'Greed is good?' That's what this whole thing is about,'' Capozzi said. "Everything about this process -- how they treated the city, how they treated the council, how they treated the team and how they treated the fans -- is kind of consistent with that statement."

Most people fell in the middle, hoping the new owners will accomplish goals including picking up new starting pitchers and fixing long food and beer lines in aging RFK Stadium. At the game, some fans were pleased.

"It's been an unconscionably long time without an owner," said Craig Channell of Northwest Washington as he sat in Section 312 wearing a blue Nationals cap and keeping score.

Several said they thought it was about time that MLB picked an owner.

Steve Heller of Fairfax County, wearing a blue Nationals T-shirt and a red hat with a W patch, called the Lerner group a "good combination of well-financed owner and the right man to run the baseball end of the operation."

Many people, including the politicians, offered advice about what the Lerners should do first to build rapport with area fans and city residents. Many of the suggestions came with price tags.

Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6), whose district includes the new stadium site, had a list of questions and requests, beginning with whether the Lerners would contribute money to improve sightlines at the new stadium and contribute an additional $20 million to replace planned garages with underground parking.

"And I'd like to talk to them about how we ensure that the experience at the stadium is as positive as possible," she said, "so even if the team isn't number one, people will still want to spend a nice afternoon at the stadium.''

Staff writer Lori Montgomery and Elissa Silverman contributed to this report.