While I did not have a quarter to open the box for a copy-and the story isn't in its online archives yet, the gist of it is simple. With the CFO's cooked $531 mill estimate rejected by the City Council, andother estimate has turned up that originated with the CFO for almost twice as much.

Perhaps this billion dollar estimate will finally convince the nine City Copuncilmembers who oppose the stadium to move a bill to repeal the Omnibus Ballpark Finance and Revenue Act once and for all. At the very least it shoudl trigger the cost provisions in that law that move the stadium back to the RFK site.

The Neo-Nationals and MLB will have no right to complain, given that the original deal did not say anywhere that an entire BILLION would be required of the city. This cost is no doubt because of the hyperinflated DC real estate market. It is quite a credible estimate given that to do it with tree year old real estate prices(in the $531M estimate) would have still cost half that much.

When Williams was first shopping this deal, he though he could build a stadium in the 5th and K trans sex work area for a little less than $550 million! He was blocked there by skyrocketing land prcices, and decided to strike another red light area instead-O and S Capitol. Now once again MLB may be priced out of the market. It's so funny when gentrifiers manage to evict themselves with their own real estate speculation!

If the Neo-Nationals walk over this, tough shit. If DC residents want baseball, the O's aren't that far away on MARC trains. They will not get a better deal than playing in a stadium built next to RFK in any city-and would risk a repeat of the same scenario for a second time. Stadium costs have been skyrocketing, but $1B will make civic leaders choke almost anywhere, and stadiums have rarely if ever made the returns for a city their backers hoped for.