Under the final deal, the city will continue to search for private money to cover at least 50 percent of the cost of the ballpark. The District and Major League Baseball will share the cost of insurance against cost overruns. And the city will be liable for $5.3 million for one season of compensatory damages -- compared to $19 million or more in the original deal -- if the stadium does not open by March 2008.In conclusion: Linda Cropp just saved the city a ton of money on park insurance. All it took was a little haggling. And this is money that the Bowtie would have willingly given up to baseball, without any negotiating whatsoever. All those people who claimed that the owners were on the verge of moving the team to Vegas rather than negotiate... should never play poker. Baseball had little leverage, and the whole "We're shutting down operations! Call now for your refund!" thing was just a toothless scare tactic.
People keep claiming that Cropp was just out to score political points. Well, she deserves them for having the balls to stand up to baseball. I will assign those points right now. She gets 17 points.
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