February 8, 2003
Northern Virginia baseball hopes face uphill sale
BY CHRIS NEWMAN
cnewman@manassasjm.com
When Virginia Stadium Authority officials presented their plans to win a relocated Major League Baseball team to state lawmakers last month, they had a reception that one referred to afterward as "deflating."
The Northern Virginia delegation engaged with them in little discussion before moving on to other business at their weekly meeting in Richmond.
"Despite what you read in [the paper], it's by no means a slam dunk for [Washington, D.C.]," said stadium authority spokesman Brian Hannigan.
The authority has a more important presentation in mid-March when it goes against the likes of Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., and Charlotte, N.C., before baseball's relocation committee in Phoenix. At stake is who can best accommodate and finance a stadium for a relocated Montreal Expos in 2004.
The authority could have an uphill fight, if major media outlets, unnamed sources and the area's only baseball team owner, Art Silber of the Potomac Cannons, are on the mark.
While local newspapers have hardly been critical, the view from skeptics is there are plenty of hurdles -- money and local politics from within and strong competition from the outside.
Money
The Virginia legislature has authorized the authority to pay for a stadium using sales taxes on concessions, parking and tickets, state income tax on million-dollar player salaries and a 10 percent ticket tax. Those revenues on top of a private contribution of $10 million annually covers two-thirds of the annual debt service of $300 million, said stadium authority chairman Michael Frey.
Where will the remaining $100 million come from? Frey said none of the money would come from general state budget dollars, but there are a lot of other options -- it depends on "what the General Assembly thinks is appropriate." State lawmakers could be hard-pressed to fund the remaining third with its current budget already filled with one-time fixes, debt and deferrals and a projected shortfall of nearly $1 billion next year on moderate economic growth.
Local politics
Virginia officials have closely guarded their preferred sites for a stadium, saying only they are along the Interstate 95/395 corridor and within walking distance of the Metro.
"There is no way on earth that there is any place in Northern Virginia that it can happen and politically it could ever be approved," said Silber, who should know.
To Prince William's chagrin, Silber has repeatedly tried to move his Potomac Cannons closer to the District over the years.
"I looked at Crystal City and I looked in Alexandria … Never ever would the people in Arlington, Crystal City ever permit a major league ballpark to be built there because of the traffic situation," he said.
Frey said they have much more money than Silber and they can afford some redevelopment sites. It also makes a big difference that they are trying to get a major league team as opposed to a minor league team, he said.
"We understand we're going to get some opposition, but the polls show heavy support for bringing Major League Baseball to Northern Virginia," Frey said. Releasing site information now would just scare people unless specifics on traffic plans, lighting and magnitude of the structure can be given at the same time, he said.
"Without those answers, they'd blow us out of the water, just like they did him," Frey said.
In 2001, Silber had his plans dashed by Fairfax County supervisors for a $250 million stadium in the Dunn Loring-Merrifield area. His proposal for a $250 million mixed-use development with 8,000-seat stadium would have been paid for without any taxpayer dollars, but supervisors voted against it because they said it would never get citizens' approval.
A year later, Silber signed a new 20-year lease with Prince William. Both parties jointly agreed to build a $10 million 6,500-seat ballpark with skyboxes next to the current G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium. The Cannons will move to the new facility in 2004.
Frey said the Virginia stadium authority needs a conditional award from baseball before they ask local elected leaders to support a stadium.
Virginia officials maintain the district is not an option because it is too close to Baltimore and would adversely affect Peter Angelos' Orioles team. Put baseball where the fans are -- in the suburbs, they say.
The district maintains it is the choice that makes sense.
"Anybody who lives around here knows the simple fact that there are two distinct markets. Baltimore and Washington are distinct markets," said Bobby Goldwater, president of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission.
"The district is the center of this market. In our judgment, you build a ballpark where people work, live or come to be entertained, which is in a city setting, and that is pretty much the formula baseball has followed for years."
The District of Columbia has laid out its five potential sites: the area around RFK Stadium area for $342 million and Mount Vernon Square at more than $500 million, both of which have already been picked apart by critics as too far from the city for weekday baseball (RFK) and too expensive (Mount Vernon).
That leaves the more likely sites of the Navy Yard and sites along Massachusetts Avenue NW or New York Avenue NE.
The competition
Virginia's ownership group leader William Collins and his 13 minority owners are up against a District of Columbia ownership group headed by Fred Malek, a former presidential aide.
Malek is "the most likely survivor," according to ESPN, and there is talk that Collins and Malek might merge efforts, but others say Malek is strong enough that he doesn't need Collins.
Doubts about Collins' ability to afford a team arose last year when his Metrocall Inc. went into bankruptcy to restructure debt. Metrocall came out of it in October, and Collins has said it did not hurt him. Metrocall fired Collins as its chief executive officer Wednesday, but Stadium Authority officials said they still have confidence in him.
Not winning any friends, Collins tried in 1995 to buy the Houston Astros when Major League Baseball told him to sit still, according to sources with the baseball commission. Baseball owners rejected the sale.
A third potential district owner with appeal entered the scene last year: Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson, who just became the first black owner of an NBA basketball team.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has called the Washington, D.C., area "a prime candidate" for relocation, but other cities do not have to invest as much as the District of Columbia or Northern Virginia.
Portland would just have to upgrade a minor league stadium, and New Orleans could use its football stadium.
The biggest question baseball officials have for the District is where it will find $400 to $500 million -- the projected cost of property to buy in the city plus the cost of the stadium.
Goldwater said legislation by Congress will undoubtedly be required for additional financing. "There is certainly support for a public-private partnership. There is no question about that," he said.
The keys to that deal are held by Rep. Tom Davis, R-11th District, who chairs the U.S. House Government Reform Committee that oversees the District. And this goes back to the issue of location.
"Davis obviously would like to see baseball in Northern Virginia. Having said that, zoning is out of Congress' hands," said spokesman David Marin. He added, "Davis certainly wouldn't mind going to a game in D.C."
There is also the speculation over what "Major League Baseball" wants.
It was rumored a year ago when Jeff Loria bought the Florida Marlins that he would eventually bring them to Washington, D.C.
Loria sold the Expos to baseball owners when he bought the Marlins for $160 million from John Henry, who bought the Boston Red Sox from the Yawkey Foundation for $660 million. Fueling speculation the three-way swap was rigged: Henry was not the top bidder for the Red Sox and baseball loaned Loria money to buy the Marlins.
"There's no way Loria would have agreed to buy a dead franchise in a market you can't possibly play in without an indoor facility," Silber said.
Silber, who lives in Florida during the winter, watched as the Florida legislature voted down a new ballpark for the Marlins two years ago. The state's ailing budget in a flat economy has added pressures now like mandated smaller class sizes, making new financing less likely, he said.
The Marlins have the second worse attendance in baseball behind the Expos, and their lease expires the end of this year, he said. Florida newspapers have reported that Selig wants to study the viability of baseball in southern Florida.
"In my opinion, that is a prelude to the Marlins being able to move, and Loria always wanted to move to Washington [D.C.]," Silber said. "He's a known quantity. He's been a responsible guy. It is my personal opinion, uncorroborated, that at some point prior to the end of this baseball season an announcement will be made the Marlins are going to move to Washington and initially play at RFK -- assuming that the District comes up with a financing plan for a ballpark."
Staff writer Chris Newman can be reached at (804) 649-8710.
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