Football
Associated Press 21y

Officials select five potential homes for Expos

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Northern Virginia officials announced
financing plans Saturday for a $400 million ballpark and five
potential sites in Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

Three of the sites are near the Potomac River in Arlington. One
is along Interstate 95 on what used to be the U.S. Army Engineer
Proving Ground in Springfield and another is north of Dulles
International Airport on the Loudoun County line.

Brian Trubey of the architect HKS Inc. said the ballpark would
incorporate elements of Virginia's architectural heritage,
including a neo-Georgian brick facade with arched windows peering
into the ballpark's concourse. Other elements would include a clock
tower overlooking the home-plate entrance, retail shops, a youth
ballpark beyond the outfield wall and 42,500 seats.

Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., are
trying to lure the Montreal Expos. If the team is awarded to the
Northern Virginia or the District of Columbia, it would play in RFK
Stadium until a new ballpark is ready.

The projected cost is $100 million higher than a 1996 estimate.
Authority consultant Ron Tillett said that according to the
financing model endorsed by state lawmakers in 1997, the owners
would pay a third of the construction costs and the public would
pay the rest.

"About 92 percent of the financing is already in place,''
Tillett said Saturday. "Funding provisions already in law are now
expected to cover all but a very small portion of the annual debt
service requirements.''

Those provisions include rebates of state income, sales and
usage taxes generated at the ballpark; construction period sales
and income taxes; and retail sales tax revenue. Additional revenue
may come from retail space rental fees and other events taking
place at the stadium.

Del. Vincent Callahan of Fairfax, chairman of the Virginia's
House Appropriations Committee, said last week that the taxes on
tickets, concessions, player salaries and the like will almost
completely pay for the state's share of the construction costs.

What remains is a gap of about $1 million to $2 million a year.
The state budget calls on Gov. Mark R. Warner to develop a plan if
baseball awards a franchise to Northern Virginia this year.

Warner has already said he won't commit general funds to stadium
construction because of the state's budget crisis. One possibility
is a regional hotel tax. Arlington County officials have told
Warner they would be willing to consider that option.

A small group of Arlington residents protested Saturday near the
authority's news conference, shouting "parks for kids, not
millionaires.'' They argued that building a stadium in the county
would increase taxes, add to traffic problems and create a
dangerous environment for children.

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