Mayor Believes Baseball Deal is Imminent

WASHINGTON - Nearly two weeks after the deadline passed, Mayor Anthony A. Williams expressed optimism Tuesday that a lease deal for a new baseball stadium could be at hand.

"I would hope as early as late this week to get council action on it, in way that addresses the cost issues, in a way that addresses the cost overrun issues," Williams said.

"I think we're very close," said Mark Tuohey, head of the District of Columbia Sports and Entertainment Commission.

Under the deal that moved the Montreal Expos to Washington, the Council was supposed to sign off on a lease by Dec. 31. That didn't happen after Williams had the lease pulled once it became clear he lacked the votes for passage. Major League Baseball filed for mediation earlier this month.

"I don't think the whole thing will fall apart. I don't think that we will lose the Nationals, but what we have to do, though, is we have to address the cost overrun issue," said council Chair Linda Cropp, D-At Large.

Although the council approved spending $535 million for construction of the ballpark last year, more recent estimates have put the costs at about $667 million.

"The cost overrun issue is being resolved for all of the elements of building this stadium, so we'll have resolutions in place very quickly," Tuohey said.

Some lawmakers who have been critical of the deal were encouraged.

"I've indicated that I will support a lease if there is a limit on how much the district will spend in public dollars," said Councilman Phil Mendelson, D-At Large.

"There has to be some stop on the amount of money that we're able to spend," said Councilman Kwame R. Brown, D-At Large.

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