A study prepared for the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission proposed locating the new stadium just east of Mount Vernon Square on Massachusetts Avenue. Alternatives to locating it there would be next to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium or to refurbish RFK stadium.

At least three community groups have already expressed opposition to a new stadium in the Mount Vernon Square area. Bill Hall, chairman of the baseball committee for the sports commission, said the commission is willing to meet with community groups to discuss the proposed ballpark. Councilman Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, will hold a meeting to discuss the plans at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 901 3rd St. NW.

Hall, a partner in the law firm of Winston and Strawn, said having a major league baseball team and a new ballpark would bolster the Washington-Baltimore bid for the 2012 Olympic games.

"If we’re able to get baseball in Washington, it shows how we’re able to organize and finance such a large effort like the Olympics," Hall said. He said a new stadium near Mount Vernon Square would give the District two outdoor stadiums and an indoor stadium where Olympic events could be held.

The possibility of Washington getting a major league baseball team was boosted when the Montreal Expos ownership missed a March 6 deadline with the National League to file an ownership plan and a new stadium plan. Hall said the league could grant the Expos permission to look for a new location as early as this week.

Hall insisted the commission has no intention of trying to build the stadium until an ownership group acquires a team and decides to bring it to the District.

Hall said the sports commission has issued a request for proposals for the development of the RFK site, including the adjacent D.C. Armory, and is currently in the process of accepting strategic plans for the site. He said any baseball stadium plans would not affect the D.C. United soccer team, which calls RFK Stadium its home.

"We see RFK as a premier soccer venue," Hall said, adding that any renovations to the stadium would be done with the soccer team’s interests in mind.

The study claimed a new downtown ballpark would generate up to $107.9 million spending per year in the District, create 2,100 jobs and generate $11.3 million in tax revenue per year.

The report studied eight locations in the District, including sites near the Anacostia Metro station, Buzzard Point in Southwest Washington and the site at Massachusetts and Florida avenues NE. The downtown location, which would be three blocks from the new convention center site and three and a half blocks from MCI Center, was given the highest rating. Projected costs for a new 45,000-seat stadium there would be $330 million.

The estimated cost of building a new 45,000-seat stadium next to RFK stadium is $230 million, while the estimate for renovating RFK stadium is $96.1 million.

Copyright 1999, The Common Denominator