November 03, 2004

Evans to D.C. council: Shut up and vote

The Washington Expos stadium bill blew past its first milepost today, passing the D.C. Council Finance and Revenue Committee by a 3-2 vote. David Catania, one of the dissenting councilmembers, presented 20 separate amendments to the bill, 19 of which were summarily rejected. (The one that made it: Addition of the word "nonbinding" to the baseball team's input into stadium design.)

Among Catania's rejected proposals were: requiring the team to play at RFK Stadium rather than a new facility; capping the public stadium costs at $500 million; requiring that team owners pay at least 20% of construction costs; requiring that stadium employees receive a living wage and health benefits; requiring that at least 500 tickets per game be distributed to local kids through the D.C. parks department; and dedicating $1 per ticket to help fund city improvements. Committee chair Jack Evans rebuked Catania for daring to propose revisions to the deal worked out behind closed doors by Mayor Anthony Williams and MLB, charging at one point: "You know the ramifications. You know it could kill the deal, and I can't let you do that."