Mayor expects lease done on time, urges opponents to tone down

Nov. 30, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Mayor Anthony A. Williams is confident the city and Major League Baseball will agree to a lease for a new Washington Nationals' ballpark without arbitration.
The mayor spoke a day after Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, wrote him to express concern the city would not meet the Dec. 31 deadline in the agreement signed last year that led to the Montreal Expos' move to Washington.
Williams urged ballpark opponents and proponents to tone down their public statements.
"We're under a lot of pressure. We need some help," he said.
Some members of the District of Columbia Council have insisted they will not vote to approve a stadium lease before baseball selected a new owner for the franchise, purchased by the other 29 teams in 2002. Eight groups are seeking to buy the franchise, which MLB is offering for about $450 million.
Baseball officials have said a lease agreement must precede the selection of an owner. Williams told would like to see both announcements at the same time.
The mayor's comments follow days of wrangling over the costs of the proposed 41,000-seat stadium on the Anacostia waterfront, south of the Capitol. Council members have suggested that the project could cost $630 million; the most recent estimate by city officials peg the costs at $589 million.
Legislation approved by council last December caps borrowing for the project at $535 million. Williams and officials with the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission insist they will be able deliver a major league-caliber facility by supplementing the borrowed money with other funding.
The other sources include an $8 million premium on the sale of the bonds, $14 million in interest and as much as $35 million in additional income from a stadium development levy enacted this year.
"We would be able to work out an arrangement where we would get the resources we need up front in return for some concession over time and on the back end," Williams said.
The mayor is hoping the effort mutes suggestions from some quarters that a new stadium be built adjacent to 44-year-old RFK Stadium at less overall expense.
"You're going to be paying the same amount, if you were to move to RFK, to get a lower performing site in terms of benefit to the city," said Williams.
DuPuy did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

Source: http://cbs.sportsline.com/