Because you just can't ever get through a day without hearing about the stadium's parking issues, here's Friday's WashTimes with "City Feeling Crunch on Stadium Parking," which reports that it's now going to cost $18 million to build the 300 other parking spaces on the stadium site (on the south side, beneath the plaza), and with only $21 million budgeted to provide all 1,225 spaces, well, there's a problem. Yes, the city is negotiating with Herb Miller to build the Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness, but as the article notes, Miller "would pay about $39 million for the land, and the commission would pay for the garages." So, what's to be done? Quoting: "The commission could ask Miller to pay for the garages in exchange for a lower purchase price on the land, or work out some other financial arrangement that will not require more city money. It is possible, however, that the commission would ask the D.C. Council to approve more funds for the project and is eyeing a possible council meeting Aug. 15. A spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams, however, said yesterday the mayor will not ask the council to approve more funds." With the garages construction needing to get started by Labor Day in order to guarantee on-time completion in March, 2008, the clock is a'ticking.

A lot of new stadium stuff today for those who are interested. I've posted a bunch of additional renderings of various parts of the stadium project (and the Garages Wrapped with Development Goodness, too) on my new baseball stadium page (follow the icon, of course). These renderings were gleaned from the DCSEC's packet of materials submitted to the DC Zoning Commission in advance of the June 26 hearing; I've also now posted portions of that zoning filing, including additional renderings and other supplemental materials.

The Post's David Nakamura recently traveled to Japan, and files a story about how the city of Hiroshima is having its own problems trying to get approval for a new state-of-the-art baseball stadium ("In Hiroshima, New Ballpark Proves a Tough Pitch"). The current ballpark, built in 1957-58, is a symbol to many Hiroshimians of the rebirth of their city after the atomic bombing in 1945, and most would prefer to have a new stadium built on the current site (across the street from the Peace Park and a building still left standing from the bombing), rather than being built a few miles away as an attempt to revitalize a neglected area. Who will win, the fans or the mayor? (At least in DC, for the most part, the fans and the mayor have been on the same side.)