In his quest for a legacy beyond being “the mayor who isn’t Marion Barry,” Mayor Anthony Williams has made acquiring a major league baseball team for D.C. a major priority. In 2000, when the nation was still tipsy with cash from the tech boom, he pledged $200 million of the District’s money to build a baseball stadium in the city. Now, however, with the city’s revenues tanking and construction costs looming as high as $500 million, Williams has said that the city can no longer afford to build the stadium and must find new methods of financing it?most likely by raising taxes.
The prospect of D.C. even getting a baseball team is slim. The powerful owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter Angelos, has stated in no uncertain terms that he will not allow a team in the District because he feels it would be disastrous for his team’s revenues. Even if one could overlook the tremendous pull Angelos has with other owners, who would have to approve any team that wished to move to D.C., there is still no guarantee that a team can be inticed to move to the city. Furthermore, a definite buyer for the team has yet to be secured. With all of the uncertainties surrounding a D.C. baseball franchise, raising taxes to pay for a stadium would be too hasty a decision. The city is already buried in debt, and raising taxes to pay for a hypothetical stadium owned by hypothetical financiers and used by a hypothetical team is more than District taxpayers should swallow.
Students should be especially concerned by some of the tax proposals being floated to finance the stadium. Although D.C. taxes are largely designed to hit tourists and spare the lower class?hotel taxes and prepared food taxes are examples?the new taxes would most likely be on cigarettes and alcohol, products students spend plenty of money on already. Since students don’t usually file taxes in the District or own property, they get none of the tax breaks of living in the District and all of the costs.
If the city can’t afford to pay for a new stadium, they shouldn’t build one. While the District might eventually recoup its losses in revenues from the stadium, Williams should be sure that the city can secure a baseball franchise before raising taxes. If the District must finance this project, they should use taxes that directly target the patrons of the stadium, and not a universal increase in sales tax.
