Baseball in Washington near collapse
NEW YORK – Washington’s new baseball team shut down business and promotional operations indefinitely Wednesday as an unforeseen council vote left the deal to bring the Montreal Expos to the nation’s capital on the brink of collapse.
Major league baseball’s September agreement to move the team to Washington called for a ballpark fully financed by government money, but the District of Columbia Council voted Tuesday to require private financing for at least half the cost.
A previously scheduled news conference to unveil new uniforms was called off and fans who bought tickets to watch the renamed Washington Nationals next season at RFK Stadium can get refunds, said Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer.
“Yes, I think baseball is now in jeopardy,” Mayor Anthony A. Williams said.
Baseball will not resume talks with other cities until after Dec. 31, the deadline in the agreement for Washington to put a ballpark financing law in place.
“In the meantime, the club’s baseball operations will proceed, but its business and promotional activities will cease until further notice,” DuPuy said.
He did not address where the team would play its 2005 home schedule if the deal with Washington falls through. It remains unclear whether baseball would move the franchise to RFK Stadium on a temporary basis, remain at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium or go to another city.
Williams signed the deal nearly three months ago, and publicly celebrated the return of major league baseball to Washington, which hasn’t had a team since 1971.
“We had a deal. I believe the deal was broken, and the dream of 33 years is now once again close to dying,” Williams said at a news conference Wednesday.
Council Chair Linda W. Cropp proposed the amendment to require private financing, which was approved 10-3 after she threatened to withhold support from the overall package, which then passed on a 7-6 vote.
“I am not trying to kill the deal,” Cropp said. “I’m putting some teeth in it because I’m really disappointed with what I got from major league baseball.”
The September agreement estimated the cost of building the ballpark and refurbishing RFK Stadium at $435 million, but critics claimed it would cost far more. The proposal, as initially approved by the council Nov. 30, called for Washington to borrow up to $531 million to cover the cost.
Despite the vote, Councilman Jack Evans, who supported Williams on the original financing plan, said that he was “very confident that we are going to be able to work through this and that we will have baseball here.”
Some cities that had lost out in the bidding for the team prepared to resume their efforts to lure the franchise.
Groups from Norfolk, Va., Portland, northern Virginia and Las Vegas are among those seeking to attract a major league franchise.