November 15, 2006

D.C. council okays garages

As predicted, the D.C. city council yesterday voted 10-3 to spend $36 million to build three parking garages alongside the new Washington Nationals stadium. By eliminating space for retail or housing development, Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty's plan is projected to keep D.C. under the $611 million spending cap it approved in March.

Of course, as the three council dissenters noted, it also eliminates the possibility of bringing in new city revenues from retail and housing projects. This points out one of the problems of having a spending cap rather than a subsidy cap: Spending extra now to recoup more money later isn't allowed - just as selling off future revenue streams to reduce the city's up-front cash outlay would have been encouraged. I probably harp on this too much, but I can't really say it enough: When evaluating stadium and arena deals, you have to look at the back end, not just the up-front costs.

The new garage plan will meet D.C.'s contractual obligation to provide 1,225 parking spaces at the new stadium, but still leaves the city far short of its goal of 9,000 new spaces for Nats fans. That could be taken as a good incentive for fans to take mass transit instead - except that the Navy Yard Metro station is too small to accommodate the expected crowds. But hey, maybe D.C. officials were right, and having to wait for the train will help encourage fans to mill around and patronize all those retail establishments next door ... d'oh!