As Washington, D.C. prepares to build the most expensive open-air stadium in history, word comes that one of the alleged benefits of the project won’t be up and running until years after the stadium itself opens. The developers planning to create a “ballpark entertainment district” around the new home of the Nationals say that they hope to have the “first phases” done by spring 2009, a year after the (probably optimistic) scheduled opening of the stadium. Since the only real benefit to the city would be from any fan spending outside the stadium (all in-stadium revenues go to the team, and in-stadium taxes go to pay off construction costs), this likely means that the city will end up taking even more of a bath on its $611 million expense.
Meanwhile, another interesting note from the Washington Post:
At the site of the new stadium, near the Navy Yard and South Capitol Street in Southeast, the job of creating a vibrant community promises to be even more challenging because the area has far less infrastructure than the Verizon Center’s downtown location.
Before condos are built and stores opened, major transportation improvements are necessary, including a $20 million renovation of the Navy Yard Metro station. The D.C. Department of Transportation is about to spend $625 million to expand South Capitol Street and rebuild the Frederick Douglass Bridge. And new street lighting and landscaping are planned to make the neighborhood feel brighter and help attract residents and shoppers, city officials said.
Not that any of this is an inappropriate use of public funds, but … $625 million? With that kind of infrastructure money being thrown around, it’s going to be impossible to tell whether any new development is the result of the stadium, or because of all the money that D.C. is spending on the neighborhood already. Add in the Washington Times’ observation that stadium land costs have soared because it’s sited in “one of the hottest development areas of the city,” and this sounds more and more like the Camden Yards template: Stick a stadium in a neighborhood already ripe for development, then call it a “catalyst.” Somebody needs to study up on their false syllogisms.