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DC Council Urged to "Stop the Hemorrhaging" of the Stadium Project
(Letter co-signed by: Jim Bouton, former Yankee pitcher and author of Ball Four; Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and author; Neil deMause, co-author of Field of Schemes; Dave Zirin, columnist for SLAM magazine and author of What's My Name, Fool?; Robert Weissman, director of Essential Action and co-author of Corporate Predators; and Shawn McCarthy, director of League of Fans.)
October 17, 2006
Council of the District of Columbia
Dear Council member:
The District baseball boondoggle is swirling out of
control at an ever accelerating pace.
The stadium project that was initially touted as
costing $200 million in public funds,[1] and then $325
million, and then $440 million, and then supposedly
capped at $611 million, is now becoming an ever larger
taxpayer burden. Incoming Council Chair Vincent Gray
agreed last year when it was suggested that the
project might hit the billion-dollar mark, and it now
appears that conjecture might turn to reality --
unless the Council acts now to stop the hemorrhaging.
Despite the sunk costs at the new site, having the
team play at RFK stadium remains the best option for
the District. Upgrading RFK would still be cheaper
than concluding the new stadium; and the
infrastructure fiascos at the new site could be
avoided if the team were to continue playing at RFK.
RFK is an alternative that provides more cost
certainty to taxpayers, offers driving access, parking
and public transit already capable of handling game
crowds, and supplies a manageable timeline for the
project, and even provides development opportunities.
Moreover, the new stadium is now actually standing in
the way of development at the S. Capitol St. site.
Assuming, however, the Council mistakenly remains
committed to the S. Capitol St. site for the new
stadium, there are a series of steps that should be
taken to mitigate the damage.
1. The DC Council should acknowledge that a
bait-and-switch was pulled on the citizenry. The
Council approved the deal on the grounds that $611
million was going to cap the District's investment in
the deal. In tragic fact, the contract provides for
open-ended liability for the District, which, with
minor exceptions, is obligated to pick up the expense
of the project, whatever it costs. The political
posturing of the cap means nothing against the legal
obligation of the lease.
2. The Council must clarify for itself and the
citizenry what if any cost overruns the project is
incurring. Council Member David Catania says that cost
overruns already exceed $100 million. The Council
should request that DC Auditor Deborah Nichols
immediately assess what cost overruns have already
occurred, and what additional overruns are now
foreseeable, and publish her audit.
3. The Council, with the assistance of Ms. Nichols,
should assess the reasons for any cost overruns. The
contract with the team imposes penalties on the
District for failing to meet the deadline, but the
penalties are bounded. It is quite possible that
existing or future overrun costs will exceed the
District's liability for failing to meet the deadline.
If so, it makes sense to slow down, and save money.
4. The Council must not rush to lavish more money on
this project by paying for parking facilities or
subsidizing a developer to do so. With the collapse of
the Miller development proposal (which, incidentally,
contained hidden costs, because the gifted land and
development rights were not characterized as an
expense) it now appears that the Mayor plans to ask
the Council for $75 million in additional funding for
parking. Under the terms of the contract, the District
is required to provide only 1,225 parking spots. It
should not subsidize developers to construct more, nor
spend more public funds to build parking facilities.
The team is being handed a publicly funded stadium,
making only the slightest contribution to its
construction. If new monies are needed for parking,
the team owners should provide them.
5. Under no circumstances should the Council agree to
"emergency" legislation to authorize new funding for
anything connected to the project. That the Mayor has
been out of the country and unengaged with the issue
does not make it an "emergency" when he returns. The
claim of urgency is simply an excuse to avoid hearings
and a full public debate over the terms of any new
funding. Needlessly considering major funding
legislation with little or no lead time is not a
useful approach for a considered deliberation of the
available options. The offer from Monument Realty that
would provide most of the needed parking for a
two-year period deserves consideration, as do other
possibilities.[2]
6. The Washington Post reports that the Lerners, the
team owners, have made intricate demands for stadium
design changes. The Sports and Entertainment
Commission should publish all of these requested
changes, and their estimated costs. Under no
circumstances should the public be left with the bill
for last-minute changes demanded by the private
tenant.
It is clear now that the project is an ever-worsening
debacle, with a one-sided lease that will impose
escalating costs on the funder (the District) with
little or no additional obligations on the beneficiary
(the team). The stadium deal that was originally
promised to cost $200 million is speeding in the
direction of $1 billion -- with control of the stadium
handed over and benefits to be reaped by private
owners. The Council needs to pause and reflect on the
stadium deal and then get this publicly funded project
back under public control.
Two years ago this month, DC residents peaceably
demonstrated against this stadium giveaway. The
Washington Post quoted Mayor Williams who described
such public concern over a (then) $440 million deal as
"populist grandstanding." It's way overdue for the
Council to put its foot down on this disrespect of
taxpayers and disregard for more important priorities
for tax dollars than increasing the profits of
commercial sports companies.
Sincerely,
Jim Bouton, former Yankee pitcher and author of Ball
Four
Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and author
Neil deMause, co-author of Field of Schemes
Dave Zirin, columnist for SLAM magazine and author of
What's My Name, Fool?
Robert Weissman, director of Essential Action and
co-author of Corporate Predators
Shawn McCarthy, director of League of Fans
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[1] Spencer S. Hsu and Mark Asher, "District Pledges
To Finance Half Of New Stadium," The Washington Post,
December 20, 2001. See also Mark Asher and Craig
Timberg, City's Share For Stadium Increasing; Mayor
Says D.C.'s Cost Could Hit $300 Million," The
Washington Post, December 22, 2002 ("The mayor's
suggestion that a city government financing package
might reach $300 million surprised members of the
D.C. Council who had been working under the assumption
that the limit was $200 million. That's the amount
Williams pledged in a letter to baseball officials in
November 2000.")
[2] Marc Fisher, "For the Stadium, It's Decision Time;
for the Mayor, It's the Offseason," Washington Post,
October 12, 2006
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