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Nats Owners Attack D.C. Parking Plan
Under a deal it signed with Major League Baseball, the city is paying for the stadium project and must provide 1,225 parking spaces by the stadium's opening. To meet the 2008 deadline, construction has to start about Labor Day.
By putting 925 of the required parking spaces inside two condominium towers on two adjacent lots on the north side of the stadium, the city is counting on Miller to complete construction by the deadline.
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VIDEO | Nationals Spring Training ON THE FIELD Jesus Flores' two-run, ninth-inning double gives the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Notebook: The Nationals trade left-handed reliever Ray King, the most veteran member of their pitching staff, to the Brewers for a player to be named. Boswell: The statistics show a return to normalcy in baseball and the end of the Steroid Era. Minor Leagues: Justin Maxwell has come out of the slump he was in after straining an oblique muscle by sneezing and is now hitting .423 with 24 homers. NATIONALS REPORTBy the Numbers89: Errors for the Nationals through Monday. Through 138 games a year ago, they had 113 errors. Personnel Dept.OF Ryan Langerhans hit his first homer of a 14-game stint with Class AAA Columbus on Monday, just before he was called up. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "My approach was a lot better." Langerhans will be used primarily as a defensive replacement. ... The club activated LHP Micah Bowie, who hadn't pitched in the majors since June because of a hip injury. ... The club announced that Centerplate would replace Aramark as the concessionaire at the new ballpark in 2008. Quotable"He certainly was a good influence on our young pitchers, had a lot to do with some of their developments. Our clubhouse was a better place with Ray King a part of it." -- GM Jim Bowden NATIONALS JOURNALBarry Svrluga provides the latest news on the Nationals. MULTIMEDIA Podcasts: Postgame audio from Barry Svrluga and video from Washington Post Live. Slideshow: A crowd of 40,389 pack into RFK Stadium to open up the 2007 baseball season. Photos: Manny Acta returns home. Webcam: Check back daily and follow the progress of construction on the stadium. |
If the project falls behind schedule, the city and the Nationals will face steep financial penalties. The District has sold more than $535 million in bonds to finance construction of the stadium, and any delay makes it vulnerable to lawsuits from investors.
The District also could be forced to pay penalties to the Nationals. The city's chief financial officer, Natwar M. Gandhi, has estimated that the District could lose $30 million if the stadium is delayed by one season, and it risks an additional $50 million in legal damages.
Lerner, who paid $450 million to buy the Nationals from Major League Baseball, would also lose millions in revenue from the gate and from sponsors if the stadium and parking lots are not open on time. Baseball chose Lerner two months ago to be the new owner of the Nationals from among eight bidding groups, and ownership is expected to be officially transferred from MLB to Lerner this month.
The Nationals echoed the concerns of Gandhi, who told the D.C. Council this week that he could not certify the Miller plan as financially sound because the developer lacked a financing agreement from a lender, title insurance to the property and a number of other basic requirements.
Miller, who met with members of Gandhi's staff yesterday and will visit them again Monday, is scrambling to assuage all concerns about the project. "We have the money to build, and we are prepared to meet all the requirements of the city," Miller said.
One skeptic Miller has yet to win over is Lerner, who must approve Miller's design plans.
