Late last night, hours after rejecting the first drop-dead proposal, the D.C. city council approved a stadium lease arrangement that protects the city against cost overruns. Indications are that the deal will be approved by Major League Baseball, though that's not set in stone; Tom Boswell reports that Virginia began making new overtures to baseball within minutes of the initial rejection. Nothing is certain yet, but baseball's executives seemed cautiously pleased about the lease.
However, it bears mentioning that Bob DuPuy, baseball's negotiating executive on the deal, is a complete and utter douche bag. He characterized the failed resolution as "blackmail." As others have mentioned elsewhere, the deal is indeed blackmail, but Mr. DuPuy appears to have his definition backwards. He also would do well (cosmically, not politically) to put away that disingenuous $317 million figure for stadium construction... a figure that conveniently leaves out all of the infrastructural changes required. I understand his frustration at being jerked around by the city, especially since a $500+ million sale has been delayed by Council's reticence... but come on. You're getting $611 million dollars, with few strings attached, and you're complaining? Go to hell, you douche bag.
Anyway, as a firm DC stadium apologist, I'm glad to see that the council didn't bungle this completely. But $611 million?!? In the words of The Dude, "Jesus!" That's expensive enough to make me question whether we should have built the stadium.
On the one hand, such is life in a major East Coast city, where nothing is served without pork... not even along the mighty Anacostia, which currently resembles a toilet overflow. And you get what you pay for, and a waterfront stadium along South Capitol street is going to be SO much better than a new stadium near RFK. It'll be one hell of a stadium when it's done, and there's no better place to build a self-aggrandizing stadium than our nation's capital. But I'm shocked that baseball forced the city council to pay for the stadium.
On the other hand, that price tag is flat-out irresponsible considering the city has such a celebrated hospital shortage. I've never been much for bleeding heart arguments, and have never, ever been in favor of folks who dismiss the importance of pro sports to city residents... if "sports is stupid" is your argument, get ready to lose. But now I'm reconsidering that. I'm horrified that Major League Baseball steamrolled the District into building them a free stadium when the Nats first moved. In retrospect, as thrilled as I am to have baseball in town, the city was wrong to commit to such an enormous project, for free. Again, I understand baseball's position... there's hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and DC is actually giving it to them. But still, it doesn't make it right. Makes you wonder what else won't happen because of the new stadium.
I'm just glad I'm not paying for it... and that I have a hospital nearby...
However, it bears mentioning that Bob DuPuy, baseball's negotiating executive on the deal, is a complete and utter douche bag. He characterized the failed resolution as "blackmail." As others have mentioned elsewhere, the deal is indeed blackmail, but Mr. DuPuy appears to have his definition backwards. He also would do well (cosmically, not politically) to put away that disingenuous $317 million figure for stadium construction... a figure that conveniently leaves out all of the infrastructural changes required. I understand his frustration at being jerked around by the city, especially since a $500+ million sale has been delayed by Council's reticence... but come on. You're getting $611 million dollars, with few strings attached, and you're complaining? Go to hell, you douche bag.
Anyway, as a firm DC stadium apologist, I'm glad to see that the council didn't bungle this completely. But $611 million?!? In the words of The Dude, "Jesus!" That's expensive enough to make me question whether we should have built the stadium.
On the one hand, such is life in a major East Coast city, where nothing is served without pork... not even along the mighty Anacostia, which currently resembles a toilet overflow. And you get what you pay for, and a waterfront stadium along South Capitol street is going to be SO much better than a new stadium near RFK. It'll be one hell of a stadium when it's done, and there's no better place to build a self-aggrandizing stadium than our nation's capital. But I'm shocked that baseball forced the city council to pay for the stadium.
On the other hand, that price tag is flat-out irresponsible considering the city has such a celebrated hospital shortage. I've never been much for bleeding heart arguments, and have never, ever been in favor of folks who dismiss the importance of pro sports to city residents... if "sports is stupid" is your argument, get ready to lose. But now I'm reconsidering that. I'm horrified that Major League Baseball steamrolled the District into building them a free stadium when the Nats first moved. In retrospect, as thrilled as I am to have baseball in town, the city was wrong to commit to such an enormous project, for free. Again, I understand baseball's position... there's hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, and DC is actually giving it to them. But still, it doesn't make it right. Makes you wonder what else won't happen because of the new stadium.
I'm just glad I'm not paying for it... and that I have a hospital nearby...
posted by Jeff at
12:32 PM
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