In a move out of left field, the D.C. Government is sweetening the deal to attract a professional baseball team to Washington. City officials, against the wishes of several other cities and baseball owners, are working to rein in the price of a stadium from $436 million to well under $400 million and allow a local ownership group to offer more for a team.
The stadium would be home to the Montreal Expos, who plan to move from their Canadian home. The Major League Baseball Association, the owner of the Expos, has lost money while the team has been in Canada. It hopes to choose a city for the team by this July, before the All-Star Game.
One major opponent to a D.C. professional baseball team is Peter G. Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles. He says there is not enough of a market to support two teams and that a new team will cause both teams to fail.
Other locations bidding to give the team their new home include Northern Virginia, Las Vegas, Portland, Oregon, the Hampton Roads section of Virginia and Monterrey, Mexico.
The Washington Baseball Club, a group of investors that has exclusive rights to bring a professional team to Washington D.C., has been working to attract a team to the District for the last four and a half years, according to Executive Director Winston Bao Lord.
The principal investor in the Washington Baseball Club is Frederic V. Malek, a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers and business partner of President George W. Bush. The group says it wants the stadium to be financed entirely by taxpayers. It anticipates paying the city back gradually through rent and ticket surcharges.
“Baseball means business, jobs, and better community. Don’t you remember when the Redskins won the Superbowl?” Lord said.
“A baseball team brings economic and tangible business but also intangible benefits, spirit from having your own baseball team. The economic value of the baseball team will be put back in the city,” he added.
The Robert F. Kennedy stadium would serve as an interim home for the team while the new stadium is under construction. There are a few proposed sites for the new stadium. One option is building a second stadium at the RFK location. Other potential sites include the intersection of North Capitol Street and New York Avenue, the Anacostia waterfront, and the Southwest Washington waterfront.
Most students seem unaware of the issue. “I don’t know how a baseball team would do in D.C. There is not much to be desired in Washington for sports,” Aizaz Ali (MSB ‘04) said.
But Lord isn’t worried. “I remain optimistic and feel confident that the nation’s pastime will be back in D.C.,” he said.
