The majority in the DC Council are voting against me --a suburban season ticket holder benefiting from DC's $millions to build a stadium. I rarely go into Washington, except the zoo, museums and monuments (all free). Looking around the stadium and talking to my neighbors at the park, the majority of the fans are like me, otherwise untapped revenue for both the city and Major League Baseball. My tax $ paid for baseball and football stadiums in Baltimore whose teams I have about as much interest in as the Cincinnati Bengals or Reds. But both have done wonders for inner city Baltimore and this will do the same for Southeast DC. But this deal stinks! The stadium, not the team, makes the Nats worth the difference between the $450M asking price and the $120M MLB paid. That’s $330M going to line the pockets of wealthy monopolists. I’d like to see somebody like Virginia Congressman Tom Davis slip a nice little tax rider into the next budget bill to take a bite out of that transfer of wealth. Maybe MLB would realize that they or the new owners should pony up at least $150M.
posted by bobolink at 11:33 AM on January 04, 2006
Washington Nationals Face Washington Locals
The majority in the DC Council are voting against me --a suburban season ticket holder benefiting from DC's $millions to build a stadium. I rarely go into Washington, except the zoo, museums and monuments (all free). Looking around the stadium and talking to my neighbors at the park, the majority of the fans are like me, otherwise untapped revenue for both the city and Major League Baseball. My tax $ paid for baseball and football stadiums in Baltimore whose teams I have about as much interest in as the Cincinnati Bengals or Reds. But both have done wonders for inner city Baltimore and this will do the same for Southeast DC. But this deal stinks! The stadium, not the team, makes the Nats worth the difference between the $450M asking price and the $120M MLB paid. That’s $330M going to line the pockets of wealthy monopolists. I’d like to see somebody like Virginia Congressman Tom Davis slip a nice little tax rider into the next budget bill to take a bite out of that transfer of wealth. Maybe MLB would realize that they or the new owners should pony up at least $150M.