jRight Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36487-2004Nov9.html She must be in cohorts with Berry. She could keep delaying a vote till next year. just sad. Cropp Postpones Vote on Stadium Legislation By David Nakamura Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, November 9, 2004; 11:36 AM D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp abruptly removed a bill to build a baseball stadium with public money along the Anacostia River in Southeast from the council's legislative agenda this morning, announcing that she has a new plan that could provide up to $350 million in private funding for the project. Cropp's action, which shocked her colleagues, came after nearly two hours of closed-door debate by the 13-member body. Council members said that the chairman, who had opposed details of Mayor Anthony A. Williams's pact with Major League Baseball to build the stadium, asked them to table the legislation for two weeks. When Cropp (D) could not secure a majority of votes to table the bill, she exercised her right to set the council's agenda and removed the item. She said she will place it on the council's agenda for two weeks from today. In that time, Cropp said, she will be able to provide more details about her latest plan. In brief remarks to reporters at the Wilson Building this morning, Cropp said that her new proposal will use a creative means to finance the stadium, choosing a developer to privately fund much of the project. The city would provide about $150 million for infrastructure improvements and to pay for the 21 acres of land that will be needed. Cropp told council members that a developer has already approached her with the idea. Under the mayor's plan, the stadium -- to be built near the Navy Yard and South Capitol Street -- could cost up to $530 million and would be financed through a combination of a gross receipts tax on large businesses, a tax on concessions and an annual rent payment by the team. In return, Major League Baseball will relocate the Montreal Expos to Washington this spring. Last week, Cropp offered a proposal to build the stadium adjacent to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, saying that the city would save 20 percent on the costs when compared to Williams's plan. Today, she said that her new plan involves building the stadium at the site in the mayor's plan. Mayoral and council aides said that a majority of seven council members were prepared to support the mayor's plan at today's legislative session. That group refused to agree to table the measure, so Cropp pulled it at her own discretion, council members said. "The most important thing is that this will enable the baseball stadium to be built with my support at the South Capital Street site," Cropp said. "My plan will eliminate government financing and eliminate the risk that is there for the government." Harold Brazil (D-At Large), a supporter of the mayor's stadium plan, said that he is not concerned that Cropp's latest move will jeopardize the District's effort to land a team. "At the end of the day, there will be seven votes for" the mayor's plan, he said. "I think baseball will be on track." Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), who supported Cropp's plan to build near RFK, said that she believed Cropp was justified in delaying a vote. "The chairman has the right to do it," Schwartz said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty P For The Pulitzer Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Well, they have until Dec. 31st, then MLB can say you got the Spos for 3 years, then they're going to Norfolk or Vegas. And at least now she's back to building the stadium on S Capitol St. Building it next to RFK is retarded. If her plan will actually work, it'll be better for the city. They should talk to MLB and see if any of the ownership bidders would put any money into a stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefhogskin48 Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Cropp is instituting her version of a dictatorship because she wants to get her way and undermine what's left of the democratic process in DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Where would you prefer to have the stadium? I think building a new facility close to RFK would be great as far as being able to travel between FedEx and the new ballpark for same day games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 I think the waterfront has more potential for long term businesses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Walton Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Agreed, look what Camden did for the biz and reconstruction of the Balt. water front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRBFan Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 I think the important question is what MLB wants. I fear that if it's built anywhere but on the Anacostia waterfront, MLB will pull the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ball Coach Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Originally posted by Alvin_Walton40 Agreed, look what Camden did for the biz and reconstruction of the Balt. water front. A big difference here is that the waterfront is not developed at all. In Baltimore the waterfront was already an attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Originally posted by Ball Coach A big difference here is that the waterfront is not developed at all. In Baltimore the waterfront was already an attraction. To paraphrase a movie: "If you build it, they will come." There is no reason other than poor management why the DC waterfront cannot be a boon for business and development. Cropp lacks any foresight and is part of the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjcskins Posted November 9, 2004 Share Posted November 9, 2004 Not to mention all the lead that's in the soil around RFK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 why do they need a new stadium anyway? all you need is grass and some seats. its a freaking spectator sport not a trip to the moon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Originally posted by Leonard Washington why do they need a new stadium anyway? all you need is grass and some seats. its a freaking spectator sport not a trip to the moon. Well I suppose one could take that approach, but it doesn't do much for business development, profit and bettering the community. But that's assuming one would want to bring development into the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 fight the good fight Linda Cropp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 My initial reaction was that she was grandstanding or trying to mess up the deal, but maybe she's just trying to get a better deal out of MLB. They're big boys and they know how to negotiate. Right now MLB is negotiating from a position of weakness because they got no where else to go this late in the game - the season starts in 5 months. So let DC try to squeeze them a little bit to get a better deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renegade7 Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 This doesn't look like she's trying to destroy baseball in DC. What's best for the city is that it doesn't pay $150 million out of it's own pocket for this stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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