September 29, 2004 will be remembered as the day that the District got baseball back. December 21, 2004 will be known as the day the D.C. Council narrowly approved the agreement formalizing the return of the Washington Nationals and the city’s promise to build them a state-of-the-art, publicly-funded stadium. December 20, 2005 may soon come to be known as the day when Washington lost another baseball team. Of course, that’s just a guess. The again, so has much of the last year in baseball politics.

What has otherwise been a popular attraction for Washington area residents had slowly started unraveling under the weight of a promise made by District officials to MLB — a new, state-of-the-art stadium built entirely with public funds. Since the day last year when the council endorsed the construction of a $535 million stadium along South Capitol Street, costs have risen dramatically to over $660 million, leaving many members of the council to decide between whether they want to risk losing baseball or risk dipping into the city’s general fund to pay for a stadium whose economic impact is guesswork at best. All the while, MLB officials have continually berated and threatened the city, seemingly demanding more sweetheart provisions to what has been termed an already sweetheart deal. And as city officials press for more time to explore private financing options, MLB may well force the District into a costly arbitration process come the first Monday in 2006.

Does anyone have anything to be proud of? Not really. D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city’s baseball boosters have been anything but upfront about what the stadium would really cost the city, foolishly assuming that that power of the Nationals alone would buy them the needed votes while engaging in an embarrassing last-minute PR campaign. MLB continues to make itself enemies, not realizing that the sheer power of its monopoly position won’t be enough to convince members of the council that they should pay for the stadium. The only winners in this sordid year-long drama may be the members of the council themselves, who, led by maverick member David Catania (I-At Large), have demanded that city officials provide something more than baseless promises to justify such a large outlay of public funds.

The first weeks of the New Year should provide plenty of interesting fodder on the stadium, ranging from the possibility of legal action by MLB to the desperate vote-buying Williams will engage in to get the needed votes. But just like the last year in baseball politics has proven, drama is sure to follow wherever the stadium should appear. Will the District eventually get a stadium along South Capitol Street? Probably. But what will it cost, and what will they city have to give up to get it? That’s the mystery.

>>DCist on the stadium
>>DCist on the Nationals

Image from Ballparks.com.