Rally and Call-In to Fight $440 Million Stadium Giveaway

From TJ at SOME:

While baseball in DC may be wonderful, the financing package proposed by Mayor Williams for a new stadium is a bad deal for the city:

* It puts a ballpark ahead of other more important needs. Taxes raised for a baseball stadium could be used to rebuild schools, keep Metro costs down, support our libraries, preserve affordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods.

* It is a sweetheart deal that benefits wealthy Major League Baseball owners. According to the Washington Post, the mayor's offer to have the city build the stadium, charge only a nominal lease to the new team, and give away 100 percent of the revenue from naming rights "was one of the most generous deals some baseball officials had seen." If DC pays for the stadium with public funds, the new team owners can pay MLB top dollar for the Expos instead of financing the stadium themselves. Major League Baseball paid $120 million for the Expos just two ago, and now they want to sell it to the new DC owners for $300 million!

* It won't meet the city's real economic development needs. Economic studies on the impact of stadiums consistently find that they do not create jobs or boost incomes, and they do not encourage development in surrounding neighborhoods. A DC stadium would be unused three of every four days and mostly would create part-time, low-wage jobs without benefits.

Tell DC leaders: No public financing for a stadium!

Baseball owners should pay for a stadium so District taxes can be used to meet the critical needs of residents.

Join a rally on the steps of the Wilson Building (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 9:15 a.m. to show your opposition to spending public funds for a $440 million baseball stadium. Bring a sign and as many people as you can and spread the word widely.

Also, call and e-mail DC City Council members. Let them know that a baseball stadium is not the kind of economic development DC needs. Tell them that the new owners should pay for the stadium, since they are the ones who will profit, and that $440 million in DC tax dollars could be much better used to improve services in DC neighborhoods.

Email addresses:
Linda Cropp, Harold Brazil, David Catania, Phil Mendelson, Carol Schwartz, Jim Graham, Jack Evans, Kathy Paterson, Adrian Fenty, Sharon Ambrose, Kevin Chavous, Sandy Allen

Priorities for phone calls:
Linda Cropp: 202/724-8032
Jim Graham: 202/724-8181
Phil Mendelson: 202/724-8064
Carol Schwartz: 202/724-8105
Sandy Allen: 202/724-8045
Kevin Chavous: 202/724-8068
Sharon Ambrose: 202/724-8072