In the News

Message from the Mayor

On September 29, I was joined by members of the DC Council, community leaders and residents to celebrate the historic decision to return Major League Baseball to Washington, DC.

We did it! From the Homestead Grays to the Washington Senators, the District has a deep heritage of baseball—and I'm proud that this tradition will live once again. The fans have made it clear that they'll welcome the Expos with open arms. By choosing our city, the league has strengthened the game's future and strengthened our city's future.

A baseball team and a new ballpark will have a tremendous positive impact on the entire city, serving as a source of community pride and economic development.

The new ballpark will be a boon to our local economy—creating new jobs, stimulating business growth, and generating tax revenue that can be put toward meeting important priorities. Our experience with the MCI Center, which opened in 1997, shows how a sports arena can serve as the spark for revitalizing entire neighborhoods and creating thriving new sections of our city.

According to the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID), by 2002, the presence of the MCI Arena had helped elicit 25 developments worth $1.2 billion paying $54 million each year in taxes. More than 15,500 jobs had been created in the area, with the help of the arena's presence. By 2007, within five blocks of the arena, the BID projects 62 developments worth $4.4 billion—which will be paying $141 million each year in taxes, and creating a total of 34,500 jobs.

According to our projections, ballpark construction will support 3,500 jobs and generate $5 million in new tax revenues. Annual team and ballpark operations will create more than 350 jobs and nearly $30 million in new tax revenues.

Part of making sure that DC baseball works for the entire city is a ballpark financing deal that doesn't place the burden on our residents. The ballpark will be 100 percent financed by the team owners, those who use the ballpark, and by DC's largest businesses. Again, our residents will not be asked to pay one dime of tax dollars toward this ballpark.

The business community supports our plan because we recognize that it will create a ripple effect of new investment, increased tourism and expanded economic activity that will benefit businesses across the District. Everywhere you look, it's clear: Washington, DC, is a city on the ascent—a baseball team being awarded to us is one more important step forward for all of us.

In the end, baseball is only a piece of my vision for the District. As I've fought for having a baseball team in DC, I've also been fighting and will continue to strive for our larger goals. Since I became Mayor, we have invested more than $50 million in new funding to fix up our libraries, more than $230 million for our recreation centers, and more than $1 billion for our schools. We've invested $1 billion in housing production across this city-part of which has led to 12,000 units of affordable housing.

In the end, I hope that we will all soon celebrate the finest education for our children, increased public safety for our residents, job opportunities across our city—and the return of Major League Baseball to the nation's capital.