10/01/2004

By CANDACE SMITH  / Associated Press

On the day the mayor sent his $440 million baseball stadium proposal to the City Council, one member raised numerous questions and called for the city auditor to have a look.

Councilman Adrian Fenty sent a letter Friday to the District of Columbia auditor, requesting an independent cost and budget analysis of the stadium. It also asks for a review of the financing plan for renovation of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, where the team would play for three seasons beginning in April.

He had a lot of other questions, including the potential for cost overruns.

The district government late Friday released a copy of the agreement it signed with baseball officials, and it states that in most cases, the city would be liable. Fenty plans to introduce an amendment requiring cost overruns to be borne by the team owners.

"The notion that this is going to cost $440 million when this is all finished is laughable. This will cost at least $600 million by inflation and cost overruns that normally are associated with big projects like this," Fenty predicted.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams said such criticism is just "talk."

"We took a very conservative construction expert to do an analysis. We added to that, and then we put a contingency reserve on top of that," Williams said Friday.

Williams has said rent on the stadium, and taxes on certain businesses and on stadium tickets and merchandise, would cover debt service on the 30-year bonds.

The mayor also contends that development around a new stadium will create jobs and improve facilities in the rundown neighborhood.

But Fenty wants the auditor to check out those claims, too. He points to Yankee Stadium in New York as an example of neighborhood hopes lost.

"That stadium thrives. People come to the baseball games, then they go right home and they never invest any money in The Bronx," Fenty said. "It sits right in the middle of a very rough neighborhood."

Fenty also wants a comparison of recent stadium deals with other cities. According to the agreement, the team will pay $5.3 million per season at RFK. But the first year's rent at the new ballpark will be $3.5 million, increasing to $5.5 million in year six.

Williams late Friday issued a statement criticizing Fenty's request.

"It is not the role of the D.C. Auditor to look at legislation. It is the job of the City Council," Williams wrote. The auditor's office did not return a phone call for comment.

The agreement requires the council to act by Dec. 31. Three council members who support baseball are expected to be replaced in January by three who aren't sold on the idea. They include former Mayor Marion Barry.

___

On the Net:

District of Columbia Government: http://www.dc.gov