D.C. Council proposal would create new fund to maintain Nationals Park

In a statement clarifying the bill, Mendelsohn emphasized that the proposal is “fully self-funded,” and in an interview said maintenance funding would be a “responsibility” to the city’s team, the stadium’s landlord. He added that he believed that.

“We shouldn’t have a problem where these obvious maintenance needs aren’t addressed right away and are allowed to accumulate,” Mendelsohn said. “And we need to make sure that legitimate maintenance needs are met, and this bill provides that.”

The Nationals support the proposed legislation, a team spokesperson said Tuesday.

The proposal appears aimed at fulfilling a long-standing desire of the Nationals. For upgrades, This comes shortly after Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s (D) negotiations to keep the Washington Wizards and Capitals at Capital One Arena failed, demonstrating D.C.’s firm determination to meet the team’s stated needs. This is what is shown. Their owner, Ted Leonsis, announced a tentative $1 billion deal to move them to a new arena. It was scheduled to be held in Northern Virginia, but it was a crushing loss for Bowser, putting increased pressure on the city to accommodate the needs of other sports teams. It was donated to the city fund around the same time last year.

The Nationals were seeking funding for major renovations to their stadium, but Bowser set his sights on bringing the Washington Commanders back to Washington, D.C., competing for the city’s attention, as Leonsis had sought. was. Capital One Arena upgrades will receive $600 million in public funds. Mr. Bowser and Mr. Mendelsohn offered Mr. Leonsis $500 million in public funding early last month, but the offer appears to have come too late, and Mr. Leonsis moved forward with the Virginia plan, which It still needs parliamentary approval.

Now, Mr. Mendelsohn’s proposal, the Baseball Stadium Budget and Maintenance Amendment Act, appears to align closely with a central request from the Nationals: their own dedicated funding stream.

Mendelsohn said the proposal was in the works long before Leonsis announced his plans to move to Virginia, but the blow to the city’s sports fans could be a result of meeting the Nationals’ deferred retention needs. He said he was simply “emphasizing the importance” of the issue.

“We built a stadium and promised the team that we would maintain it, and we don’t need talk of deferred maintenance or broken scoreboards or anything like that,” he said. “So let’s provide some avenue to maintain our facility and maintain it as a very attractive Major League ballpark.”

Under this law, new The Stadium Maintenance Fund has three main sources of income, all of which It already exists and could be earmarked for long-term maintenance and improvement. Sales tax on purchases at the stadium. The ballpark rent the team pays to his DC. Remaining funds remaining in the Ballpark Revenue Fund (BRF).

BRF is special money that the city will use to pay off municipal bonds that financed the construction of the stadium in the 2000s. The city is paying off those bonds ahead of schedule, raising questions about what will happen to the money left in the city. The money ended up being used, especially since other sports teams were wondering if they would be able to get some of that money.

In September, Alan Gottlieb, chief operating officer of the sports business group owned by the Lerner family, said: The team that owns the Nationals sent a letter to local leaders asking them to repurpose the BRF’s various revenue streams into a “Ballpark Modernization and Sustainability Fund,” which Mendelsohn said It reflects the proposal. The goal was to use the funds to maintain and modernize Nationals Park, which opened in 2008, without imposing additional taxes or drawing down other appropriations. Nationals Park is still one of Major League Baseball’s new stadiums, and only six new ballparks have opened nationwide since then.

According to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, BRF’s funding comes from four main sources. The largest tax so far is a tax on individuals or employers with income over $5 million. It brought in an estimated total revenue of $46.8 million in fiscal year 2023, according to a December report. The CFO’s office said the tax will disappear once the bonds are paid off. The remaining three are taxes on Nationals Park sales. Public works. and the ballpark rent the Nationals pay in D.C.according to The national debt is scheduled to be paid off in 2027, according to budget documents.

Revenues totaling about $70 million are typically much larger than annual municipal bond payments, creating surplus funds. But in recent years, Bowser and the City Council have directed some of the BRF’s surplus money into the general fund to help balance the city’s budget. Since 2020, the city has allocated more than $200 million, including $82 million that the city plans to withdraw from the fund between 2024 and 2027. Mendelsohn acknowledged the decision caused anxiety for the Nationals during last year’s budget season, but defended it as necessary. at that time.

He said his bill would not change past budget decisions, but would prevent further general funds from being siphoned off from the BRF.

“Congress agreed. Congress is not innocent here,” he said, acknowledging that Congress approved Bowser’s request to use BRF funds to balance the budget. “But you remember last year’s budget was a very difficult budget. If we couldn’t keep what the mayor proposed, we would have had to find $80 million to replace it. ” But the bill says nothing more than that. ”

While the bonds are still being repaid, the bill directs Events DC, the quasi-governmental agency that negotiates with the Nationals regarding maintenance needs under the lease agreement, to use excess revenue to fund stadium improvements.

The Nationals plan to upgrade the scoreboard, the equipment to operate it, and the stadium’s lighting for the 2024 season. As the stadium ages, future funds will be used to improve other stadiums.

The demands come as a potential sale of the team remains up in the air. The Lerner family has announced they will consider selling the team in 2022, and that remains a possibility. But the family is no closer to selling and Leonsis is the most likely buyer, although obstacles remain. As a result, the Lerners will operate the team as if they intend to own it indefinitely.

Sam Fortier contributed to this report.