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·clyde·
12-16-2004, 04:40 PM
Is baseball dead in DC?
Does anyone other than Williams care?
Is baseball dead in DC?
Does anyone other than Williams care?
I was looking forward to a new east coast team. I can understand the council's opinion, but think their sentiment should have been clear before the initial deal was negotiated and announced.
I still think it will happen... they'll be an 11th hour agreement.
Hope you don't mind I posted a reply. No one else seems to GAS.
BahnBaum
12-17-2004, 05:57 AM
Angelos cares.
Alex
BahnBaum
12-17-2004, 05:59 AM
I still think it will happen... they'll be an 11th hour agreement.
I think they're at 11:30. Refunds to season ticket holders being given? City Council is trying to throw their weight around; they prolly don't see their "constituency" as benefiting from this at all. Pretty short sighted. I wonder if NOVA quickly comes back into the picture.
Alex
·clyde·
12-17-2004, 06:26 AM
I was looking forward to a new east coast team. I can understand the council's opinion, but think their sentiment should have been clear before the initial deal was negotiated and announced.
I still think it will happen... they'll be an 11th hour agreement.
Hope you don't mind I posted a reply. No one else seems to GAS.
Not to be too cynical, but Williams (the mayor) negotiated the deal that he wanted, not what the Council wanted, and that was his plan from the start. He didn't expect the Council chairman (a woman, but prefer's to be called "Chairman" :loco: ) to make a stand like she has and thought he could ram it through. The initial proposal he gave to the Council wasn't just what he negotiated with MLB, but added a bunch of money for community redevelopment to try to secure the votes of a few Council members that were totally opposed ot public financing. The city's money people reviewd the proposal the Mayor had submitted and found that the proposal didn't include several huge costs that they said would run the price fo the deal up from $440M to ~$550M. After that announcement was made, the Washington Post had some other experts review the proposal and their estimate came in at nearly $600M.
A large portion of the public funding in the proposal was to be generated on a gross reciepts tax on businesses bringing in more than $5M/year. More than a few of those companies have indicated that they will leave the city if that happens. There is a fair amount of noise being made by residents in opposition to public financing for a baseball stadium when the city won't make money available to fix public school buildings (many of which are partially condemned). Most of this outcry didn't start until after Williams and MLB announced their deal...because the details of how much it was going to cost and where the money was going to come from wasn't known until then.
Add to this the city's most recent experience with a new stadium/arena being built in town: MCI Center. Since it was built, that part of town which had been run down and trampy for many years has turned into a thriving neighborhood thriving with expensive shops, restaurants, etc. And the arena was built almost entirely with private funds. People think the same thing can happen with a baseball stadium in an even uglier part of town.
Honestly, I think that Williams' original deal with MLB was a giveway to the league at a tremendous cost to the city. What Cropp and the Council did a couple days ago may not have been fair, but I do think that it's in the best interests of the city, its residents and its businesses. Frankly, it's the first thing I've ever seen that might support the notion that the DC government may actually be capable of governing itself. Then again, Barry was elected back to the Council once more this past election, which is an indication that the above was just a fluke occurence of happenstance.
If the MLB was run by anyone worthy of an ounce of respect, I'd think it's more likely than not that MLB and the city come to terms. But MLB is run by that nogoodnik, Selig the Sleaze, so... :dunno:
In most respects, I don't GAS, what ultimatley happens...I'm just enjoying the show. OTOH, if the Expos ultimately wind up in NOVA, I'll be pissed.
OTOH, if the Expos ultimately wind up in NOVA, I'll be pissed.
Why?
·clyde·
12-17-2004, 05:58 PM
Why?
Same reasons as the last time we discussed it. I'm too lazy to search for the thread, but you're more than welcome to.
Same reasons as the last time we discussed it. I'm too lazy to search for the thread, but you're more than welcome to.
I thought you were against baseball in DC altogether. Good thing I don't have to rely on my memory as much as I used to. ;)
·clyde·
12-17-2004, 06:33 PM
I'd rather there be none, but if it has to be in the area, I'd rather it be in DC than NOVA.
Memory? I've forgotton what that word means.
Memory? I've forgotton what that word means.
Those wafer things that make my computer go faster.
TeamM3
12-17-2004, 08:21 PM
yeah, I almost posted it the other day, they will be begging for someone to use those parking lots on the weekend :)
Those wafer things that make my computer go faster.
Wafer-thin mints?
http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/python/Images/tmol01.jpg
Wafer-thin mints?
Look. I couldn't eat another thing. I'm absolutely stuffed. Bugger off.
:rofl:
Parking Fees Nearby Could Alleviate Stadium Funding
A plan to raise $100 million by charging for curbside parking near a new baseball stadium has emerged as one of the leading proposals in the District's bid to find private money to finance the ballpark, city officials said yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8806-2004Dec17.html/?nav=yahoolocal
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