Washington D.C. clears way for Nationals

WASHINGTON -- Baseball fans in the nation's capital can start dreaming again of their first opening day in 33 years.

The District of Columbia Council voted 7-6 Tuesday to approve legislation that clears the way for the Montreal Expos to move to Washington next season and be renamed the Nationals. The measure allows the city to sell up to $584 million in bonds for construction of a 41,000-seat stadium about a mile south of the Capitol and renovations to RFK Stadium, where the team will play next year.

Ticket and team merchandise sales were to resume Wednesday after being suspended for a week because of uncertainty caused by changes the council made last week in the city's agreement with the team.

"The Nationals are finally rounding third and heading for home," said Mayor Anthony A. Williams, who negotiated the move with major league baseball officials.

Williams said he will sign the bill as soon as it gets to his desk, leaving only commissioner Bud Selig's approval of the RFK renovations for the move to become final. The Nationals' home opener on April 14 would be the first regular-season major league game in the city since the expansion Senators left town to become the Texas Rangers after the 1971 season.

A week earlier, the council amended the deal Williams negotiated to require that half the construction costs be privately paid, or the law would be voided. Baseball officials balked at the provision and threatened to look for another home for the team if the original deal wasn't approved by the Dec. 31 deadline set in the September agreement.

But the mayor won the votes he needed to approve a deal that baseball would accept after he, Council Chair Linda W. Cropp and baseball officials compromised Monday.

The final legislation calls for the city and baseball to split the cost of insurance that would limit the city's liability on cost overruns or construction delays. The amendment, introduced by Cropp, also reduces compensatory damages for the first year if the stadium is finished late. Instead, the Washington Nationals would not have to pay $5.3 million in rent if the ballpark is not ready for the 2008 season and the team has to remain at RFK.

A second amendment, approved 10-3, deletes the sunset provision that would have canceled the deal if there was no private financing.

Baseball was pleased with the vote and guarantees in the legislation that the stadium would be built as planned, Selig said.

"We are also pleased that our discussions with Washington's elected leaders over the last several days have helped each side better understand the concerns of the other," Selig said. "We are now more confident than ever of a long and productive relationship with the city of Washington as we move forward with this great project."

Cropp said she agreed to remove the sunset provision because the baseball owners had yielded on cost overruns and compensatory damages.

Williams sent Cropp a letter Tuesday, noting his commitment to include private financing in the stadium package. If there is no better proposal, Williams wrote, he will use a proposal from the Cleveland-based Gates Group that would provide $100 million in return for parking revenues near the stadium.

Supporters of the measure also made some parliamentary maneuvers to ensure that the bill could not be reconsidered next year, when three new members who oppose the stadium project begin their terms.

"It's a great mark for the city," said D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission chairman Mark Tuohey. "I've always respected Chairman Cropp and her goodwill."

Former Washington Senators announcer Charlie Brotman joined the celebration outside the council chambers after the vote. He said families are the biggest winners because they can't afford tickets to Redskins or Wizards games.

"I was so pleased baseball's going to have $7 bleacher seats," Brotman said. "I spent my entire youth in the bleachers -- that was for 55 cents though."