League of Fans

Dr. Natwar M. Gandhi
Chief Financial Officer
District of Columbia

Dear Dr. Gandhi:

The residents and taxpayers of the District of Columbia have been told by members of the DC Council and in subsequent press reports, that the approved baseball stadium lease — as written — now contains a $610.8 million cap on spending from city resources for the new stadium project. I am requesting that, as the District’s Chief Financial Officer, you release a statement immediately either verifying to the people of the District that the $610.8 million cap on city spending for the new baseball stadium is a true, ironclad cap, with no loopholes, or an explanation as to why it is not.

Baseball stadium legislation passed by the D.C. Council in the dead of night — after illegal closed-door discussions involving political payoffs — does nothing to curb runaway stadium costs and is a sham on the public, a citizens’ coalition charged today.

As reported in the press, the Council’s 9-4 vote in the early morning […]

Jeff Passan, a baseball writer for Yahoo (the Internet giant and “police informant“), takes on Major League Baseball’s territorial-rights policy in his May 26 column:

The revised baseball stadium draft lease agreed to Friday by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams appears to give away even more city assets, still fails to provide for a true cap on stadium costs, still fails to legally specify who will pay for cost overruns, fails to provide for possibly shifting the stadium from South Capitol to a far less-expensive RFK Stadium site, and should be rejected immediately if a vote is taken by the Council, a citizens’ coalition said today.

Honorable Linda W. Cropp
Chair
Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Chairman Cropp:

It is imperative that you and other councilmembers vote “no” on Tuesday, and send Mayor Williams and Mark Tuohey back for further negotiations with Major League Baseball. Do not be bullied by the latest threats from the Mayor and MLB. A “no” vote on Tuesday does not in any way mean an end to baseball in the District of Columbia, but it will potentially stop the inevitable train wreck we are about to experience:

Testimony of Ralph Nader
Before the Committee on Economic Development
District of Columbia City Council
December 13, 2005

Members of the Council, thank you for giving me the opportunity to present testimony. I would ask that my testimony be made part of the official record of this hearing.

In the Sunday, December 11, 2005 Washington Post, an unnamed city official admitted to low-balling stadium costs in an effort to gain approval from the DC Council prior to the vote on stadium financing last year. “The source,” wrote the Post, “who spoke on condition of anonymity because the project is at a sensitive stage, said officials also added relatively small contingency costs because they knew it would be hard to persuade the council to approve a larger budget.”

(Ralph Nader and the sports reform project League of Fans sent a letter to NBA star LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers asking him to advocate for more responsible marketing practices to help minimize the risk of obesity in children in his anticipated endorsement contracts with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. The letter follows.)

Testimony of Ralph Nader
Before the Committees on Finance and Revenue, and Economic Development
District of Columbia City Council
November 28, 2005

Members of the Joint Committees, thank you for giving me the opportunity to present testimony. I would ask that my testimony be made part of the official record of this hearing.

Last year in the District, a mobilized citizenry emerged to challenge a proposal by Mayor Williams and the DC Council that would have subordinated the life necessities of District residents to a private, for-profit, monopoly entertainment corporation. District residents were heavily opposed, by an over two-to-one margin, to a publicly-subsidized stadium for Major League Baseball. Voters ended the representation on the Council of all three incumbent members up for re-election who supported spending tax dollars on a stadium, and replaced them with three who campaigned against it.

When: Washington Nationals’ Opening Day, Thursday, April 14 at 6:00 pm.
Where: RFK Stadium, Main Entrance on East Capitol St., SE

The “Millions for Stadiums, Peanuts for Schools” rally will send the message that a city flush with revenue, and spending at least $581 million on a new stadium, should not cut the DC Public School’s capital budget by 44 percent over the next two years as proposed in Mayor Anthony Williams’ budget. The FY 2006 budget includes no additional funding for athletic programs in DC Public Schools.

Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Councilmembers:

Where is the DC Council oversight on this runaway stadium gravy train? The recent maneuver to introduce as “technical” three amendments to last year’s rush-job stadium bill, and to block all other amendments, is the latest example of a Council which has fallen to its knees. As reported by the Washington Post on October 18, 2005 regarding the utilities tax amendment, “Wall Street wants a guarantee in the legislation that the utilities tax will bring in at least $12 million a year, enough to cover the ballpark debt service.” This amendment is a substantive change and anything but technical.