We'll kick off with Marc Fisher's Thursday Post column (available early on the web), "
Stadium Wrangling in Drama City."
UPDATE, 10:17 pm: The Post has "
Reeling and Dealing on Stadium," with some good old-fashioned DC fingerpointing between the Mayor and the Council and a little amongst council members themselves as to how the lease agreement came so close to falling apart.
UPDATE, 10:54 pm: Here's the Post's main stadium story for the day, "
Stadium Lease Deal Leaves Questions." The main points: MLB still hasn't received the full documents and are saying they are "very concerned," and the city CFO has not yet reviewed the cap and may not be able to sell construction bonds for another 4-6 weeks. Then there's the construction timetable, with the not-really-surprising statement: "Some city officials have begun talking about the possibility that the
stadium will not be ready for the Nationals until the middle of the 2008 season, around the All-Star Game break." And of course there's the choice of an ownership group for the team; " 'Baseball has told us it will be done expeditiously,' said Mark H. Tuohey, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission. 'I interpreted that to mean a matter of a few weeks.' " We'll see whether any of this is more than just the little potholes we've gotten used on this long, strange trip. And check out the
fun timeline graphic!
UPDATE, 1:44 am: And we close out with the WashTimes's "
Ballpark Lease Concerns Baseball," quoting the same written statement from MLB that the Post used, plus a bit of analysis: "MLB's support for the cost cap likely depends on whether officials believe the team owner will be stuck with overruns. The cap legislation allows for the team's owner to pay for overruns but does not require it. Overruns also could be paid for by other outside entities, such as the federal government or private developers, or through savings on the construction of the stadium's structure." And: "If MLB approves of the lease and cost cap, the league could name an owner within weeks, Tuohey said. Other city and industry sources were more skeptical, believing the league will name an owner only after construction of the stadium is under way."