D.C. Mayor: Making Progress on Baseball Deal

WASHINGTON - Mayor Tony Williams says he's making headway in his efforts to win public support and votes on the D.C. Council for a baseball stadium agreement.

Williams says the debate has shifted over the past year away from whether public dollars should be used to build a ballpark for the Washington Nationals.

Now they're talking about how to contain spending and make sure there's an adequate contribution from Major League Baseball for cost overruns.

Negotiations between the city and baseball were still going on Saturday, the deadline for the city to finalize a lease agreement for the ballpark.

Williams says he's trying to convince people that D.C. is not bearing all the burden.

He says only a fraction of the financing costs will come from the city's ballpark tax.

The rest comes from baseball and revenue on ticket sales, and Williams says 70 percent of baseball fans come from Maryland and Virginia.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)