You may be sick of stadium stuff, but there’s big news. As in a billion dollars big. Facing pointed questions last Friday at a D.C. City Council hearing convened by Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), District CFO Natwar Gandhi admitted that the total cost of building a new stadium for the Nationals could well top $1 billion. According to The Common Denominator, Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who supports building a new stadium adjacent to RFK and not in the current location in Southeast, pushed Gandhi and his staff to estimate what the total cost to the city for land acquisition, new infrastructure, environmental remediation, legal costs, and stadium construction would be. Upon hearing Gandhi’s response, Barry responded:

Thank you, you finally said it — we’re talking about a billion dollars in debt.

In related news, members of the Council questioned two of the primary private financing schemes needed to cover $140 million of the stadium’s cost. According to the Post, the proposal by Deutche Bank to provide $246 million in financing in exchange for the annual rent and concessions revenue was debated, with members of the Council criticizing a provision mandating that the the bank’s annual take exceed $18 million — whether or not that’s what the stadium can produce. Evans, a longtime baseball booster, asked a bank representative:

Why should we do this? What is the benefit to the District? What is the risk you are taking?

The hearings on the financing of the stadium continue today, with the Committee on Finance and Revenue accepting public testimony starting at noon.