So we're paying $673,603,097.00 (DC's revised budget as of 12/31/07) to revitalize the Navy Yard. We're paying $200,000,000.00 to revitalize Southwest Washington. Why the Hell wouldn't we drop another $190,000,000.00 to revitalize Ward 8?
That's right, folks. We're up to over a billion dollars that's going to be invested in speculation. A billion dollars!!!!!
The best part is the $190,000,000.00 that would be used towards buying some wealthy guy a soccer stadium - as if anyone gives a shit about soccer - is actually extra revenue from the baseball stadium taxes. In other words, that money should be used to pay off our bonds. But, fuck it. More stadiums!
All to prevent some very rich man from taking his precious soccer team all the way to Prince George's County.
This is especially appalling because when Mayor Fenty was Councilmember Fenty, he voted against the public funding of the baseball stadium. He said it was an inappropriate waste of money! One of the things I liked about his election was that we weren't going to get any more stadiums on the public dime. Now we're getting more stadiums and a fancy hotel on the Potomac in SW DC.
ONE BILLION DOLLARS!
The city has a billion dollars to spare and instead of it going to us it's going to the super-wealthy. To team owners, professional baseball leagues, and gigantic construction that aren't even based in DC. (Which is ok when we do it, but not ok for the Nationals to have team functions in PG County.)
Fuck you, Washington. Fuck you hard.
2.14.2008
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Actually, that $190 million isn't for a stadium, it's basically for putting in the "grid" for the new development. MacFarlane's proposal that Fenty walked away from wanted $350 million for infrastructure - the stadium itself wouldn't cost nearly that much, and MacFarlane and United would have paid for it themselves. Same with Clark.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not there ends up being a stadium there, the District will end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars towards the development. I don't really have a problem with that, since it's for the sort of basic infrastructure that I expect the District to provide: roads, sewer lines, water mains, power grid, etc. I expect the developer (Clark) to build the buildings (including any possible stadium), and pay to hook them up to the grid, but you've gotta put the grid in at some point, and there's no way in hell that's happening without the District forking over some money.
If Fenty gets the Poplar Point project done with only $190 million in bonds, tax incentives, and leases, well, that's $160 million less than it would have cost if he had gone with MacFarlane's group.
But remember, this is going to cost major coin, stadium or not.
Actually Rusty, the word is "stadia"
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