Baseball in Washington bill signed

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed into law a financing package for a new baseball stadium along the Anacostia waterfront in Southeast today, calling it "one of my proudest days as mayor." The legislation, which was approved narrowly by the D.C. Council last week, authorizes the administration to issue up to $534.8 million in bonds to pay for the ballpark, as well as renovations to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The Washington Nationals will play at RFK for three season, starting April 14, and then move to the new stadium in 2008.

Surrounded by children in red, white and blue Nationals caps and T-shirts, Williams donned a red cap and signed the document with three ceremonial pens, then smiled for the assembled television cameras and held his arm aloft. "It's a great day in our city," Williams said. "This baseball park is good for the city. Maybe I could have done a few things differently, but I never regretted what I did. It's not good just for the psychology of the city, but it's good for the city economically. I really, really believe that."

The signing ensures that the council cannot reopen the legislation for further changes and ends two months of fierce debate between city leaders, activists and residents over the use of public money for a ballpark. Under the terms of the stadium package, the city will seek 50 percent private financing and will implement a gross receipts tax on large businesses and a utilities tax on businesses and federal buildings to pay for most of the rest of the project. A tax on concessions and an annual rent payment by the team also will provide revenue to pay off the bonds.