Post-Hearing UPDATE: The first two hours of the hearing were more of a general discussion about the current state of DC voting rights, which included multiple mentions that the $3 billion that District residents pay each year in federal taxes is higher than the tax burdens of seven states, and nearly as high as four others. It wasn't until DC Sports and Entertainment Commission CEO Greg O'Dell started his testimony that the issue of whether the council even can legislate the addition of a sign to the ballpark came up.

Because the lease agreement signed by the team and the city states that the Nationals control the signage on the stadium's interior, exterior, and perimeter, the DCSEC's outside counsel feels that this tote-board bill "could conflict" with the lease. O'Dell took a pretty tough batch of questions from council chair Vincent Gray about whether O'Dell himself thinks this sign is a good idea--he punted a number of times, saying he wanted to be "mindful of the process" and "respectful of my board" until Gray finally pinned him down to admit that he thinks it's a good idea. O'Dell did say that the sports commission would move to implement whatever the council decides.

Chairman Gray commented a few times on his unhappiness that the citizens of the District are paying $611 million for the ballpark but can't put this sign up without going to the Nationals for approval. As to the issue of whether the sign's costs would violate ballpark cost cap, O'Dell indicated that if the sign cost less than $100,000 that he didn't think it would cause any cap problems.

So, one would imagine that there will now be some intense negotiations between the city and the Nationals to get their approval for the sign. But given the response that Stan Kasten gave to Mark Plotkin (described here and here) about the moving the DC Taxation Without Representation sign that currently hangs at RFK to the new ballpark, it will be interesting to see how this tote-board discussion turns out.

These tidbits came from yesterday's holiday lighting ceremony, which I wasn't able to attend (though the Nats320 blog was there and has photos) and which doesn't seem to be covered on the local networks' video offerings. But be sure to look at the stadium web cam images from Wednesday evening for some particualrly striking photos of the ballpark, lit up at night with a blanket of snow on the field.

UPDATE: Oops, here's the MLB.com piece on the ceremony, with lots of details.

UPDATE II: One more note on the holiday lighting ceremony--a press release from the Nationals today says that the Nationals and Clark Construction subsequently donated the 10-foot Douglas Fir used in the ceremony to the South Washington/West of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative, for its use at a Dec. 12 holiday celebration at Westerminster Presbyterian Church at 400 I Street, SW.

And, in a story just barely tied to the stadium, The WashTimes reports about the Nationals' work through its Dream Foundation to create a youth baseball academy at Fort DuPont Park in Southwest, perhaps at the expense of renovating the city's baseball and softball fields: "Under the conditions of the lease tied to the Nationals' new ballpark, the team is required to help youth baseball programs in the District by operating a new baseball academy, holding clinics and providing free equipment to groups in need. By most accounts, the team has done well in meeting those requirements, but a provision of the lease calling for the team to renovate fields in the city has gotten less attention. [...] Tanenbaum said she is aware of complaints involving the city's playing fields but said she is being cautious about taking on too much in just the second year of operations for the foundation [...] Nationals director of community relations Barbra Silva said she and Tanenbaum have talked with Play Ball DC and the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and said the team could begin helping with renovations this year. But they want to ensure the fields not only are renovated but maintained." The article also mentions that the foundation "will start a charitable program next spring relating to the neighborhood around the team's new ballpark."