DC Complains because of future events Held in MD not DC

[CALSGR8]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110602296.html

Geez, what a bunch of whiners!  Fund a stadium and they think that EVERY SINGLE event that's involves the NATS should be held in DC.

I've been a member of the Washington Baseball Historical Society for years.  They used to have NATS FESTS every year.  a couple have been held down near union station.  However the last one (before we got the team) was in Bethesda.  So what?  Big Deal!  It was that small group that invited The Virginia and DC for baseball contingency in to get Baseball Here in the first place!

The past years that the NATS have been here have had Banquets in DC.  Just like any businessman, the Lerners and Kasten are going to get the best deal they can for these types of events.  If that brings them outside of DC, so be it!   

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Uh, well, gee...I guess the whole rationale for the public financing of a 611-large stadium was to seed tax revenues, and what do LernerKastenCorp do but--at the very first chance--direct baseball-related tax revenues to the 'burbs...look, if you can get Jack Evans pissed off at baseball, you've realllllly done it.  Pretty cackhanded way to screw up a honeymoon before the rice has even been thrown, especially in the aftermath of the recent slaps the District has taken re representation in Congess and a commuter tax.  Is this little Bethesdagate a really, really, really big deal?  of course not.  Is it totally boneheaded and guaranteed to cause all sorts of unnecessary grief with the D.C. government down the road?  You bet.  Nice going, Kasten. 

[kimnat]

What a bunch of crybabies!  All the money we drop when we go to games down there and all they do is whine and cry.  I love Virginia!  They need to reach out to the communities that support them too and that means the 'burbs.  Plus, if they were given the space for free, all the better for the charity that gives to DC kids.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

I'm glad you love Virginia, I really am.  In fact, I'm sure your love for Virginia will smooth over everything with DC council.  Love is in the air...

Now I must go beat my head against a tree... 

What a bunch of crybabies!  All the money we drop when we go to games down there and all they do is whine and cry.  I love Virginia!  They need to reach out to the communities that support them too and that means the 'burbs.  Plus, if they were given the space for free, all the better for the charity that gives to DC kids.

[tomterp]

So they hold the events in Maryland, collect donations there and spend the money in DC on needy kids.  And they have at least $250k more to spend on the needy because they got the place for free, rather than paying for the hotel like at the Mandarin Oriental last year.

The city ought to be elated that the programs are going to be much better funded now, since the vast bulk of it is raised outside the city and spent inside it.

[Evolution33]

Who cares about the DC Council. The only thing I could think about when reading that were parents they buy their kid a car and then when the kid gets older they hold it over their head and demand to know everything they do. If the team wants to hold a function for its fans in Maryland or Virginia then so be it. They are an area team just like the Redskins who practice in Va and play in Md. Using the fact that they paid for the stadium at every chance they get is an jerk move.

[kimnat]

Who cares about the DC Council. The only thing I could think about when reading that were parents they buy their kid a car and then when the kid gets older they hold it over their head and demand to know everything they do. If the team wants to hold a function for its fans in Maryland or Virginia then so be it. They are an area team just like the Redskins who practice in Va and play in Md. Using the fact that they paid for the stadium at every chance they get is an ******* move.

QFT!

I'm glad you love Virginia, I really am.  In fact, I'm sure your love for Virginia will smooth over everything with DC council.  Love is in the air...

Now I must go beat my head against a tree... 

LOL!!!! I'm sorry!

[2IPAs]

Anyone know why is the venue in PG is free?  Is it Lerner real estate?

[kimnat]

good question!

[CALSGR8]

I think its free because its a new project in PG NEW HARBOR PROJECT or something like that.  Its opening soon.

I think they want the publicity by to draw people to it.  Once drawn to it, then they'll charge for future events.

Just my theory.  Kind of like when a new development opens around here and they have a big party and such to bring people in.

[nospinzone1]

I HATE TO DISAGREE WITH MY FAMILY. I THINK THEY HAVE A LEGITIMATE COMPLAIN. AFFAIRS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR DC FIRST AND THE BURBS AFTGER.

[CALSGR8]

But if the charges for a place in DC would take away from the funds raised, how is THAT good for DC?  Also, if someplace in DC is NOT available at the right price on the date that they want it, they should be free to go anywhere they can get the date and a good deal.

This team came here not based on just the population of DC.  It came here because of the entire area including the outer suburbs.

Like I said, if it weren't for the meetings and fanfests (to draw up interest) around this area before we had a team, we wouldn't even be arguing over all this.  You'd have to go to Portland for your baseball.

Also what isn't mentioned is the fact that the Lerners have already added features to the new Stadiuma that DC is NOT paying for.

[tomterp]

DC's hoteliers are feeling very threatened by the PG Harbor project.  It's much bigger than anything in DC, and it's already booking major conventions that DC is unable to attract.  The number of room nights already booked years in advance in that hotel is staggering.

[blue911]

As a DC resident, I don't care where the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation holds their annual gala. Hold it on Mars for all I care, providing Martians can by season tickets and spend their money in DC. The whole concept behind financing the stadium was to increase the tax base in an area that was populated by strip clubs and auto body shops. The stadium lack of parking theatens the $611M investment much more then one high-brow event held in PG County (Is that an Oxymoron?).

Fanfests should be held in at least ten different locations. Check out the Cubs and Cards off season marketing. Both of these teams draw 3M+ a year because the actively market their teams all over the midwest.

That being said, the hospitality industry in Washington bears the brunt of the tax burden for financing the new stadium. It seems as if the City Councilmembers are trying to show that they are looking out for their constituents.

[shoeshineboy]

As a DC resident, I don't care where the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation holds their annual gala. Hold it on Mars for all I care, providing Martians can by season tickets and spend their money in DC. The whole concept behind financing the stadium was to increase the tax base in an area that was populated by strip clubs and auto body shops. The stadium lack of parking theatens the $611M investment much more then one high-brow event held in PG County (Is that an Oxymoron?).

Fanfests should be held in at least ten different locations. Check out the Cubs and Cards off season marketing. Both of these teams draw 3M+ a year because the actively market their teams all over the midwest.

That being said, the hospitality industry in Washington bears the brunt of the tax burden for financing the new stadium. It seems as if the City Councilmembers are trying to show that they are looking out for their constituents.

Agreed. As Tomterp said, this is bigger than this one deal. It has to do with the DC hotel association and their constituencies using this a PR grab. The Nats need to draw support regionally, and in this case they are doing this while getting this gala for free. If a DC hotel did they same, they would lose potential revenue which would in turn sacrifice the tax revenue. Using the Nats to get more money from the 'burbs to funnel back to DC via the foundation seems like something the Council could find favor with if they stopped reacting like puppets everytime the donors to their campaigns call them with a complaint.

[arkymark]

In a perfect world, all that would be true, but the District is not perfect.  Kasten needs to start thinking about the environment in which he's operating, and he needs to stop snapping at these people because they're not going to go away or become more understanding.  As somebody in the press has observed, this is not Atlanta.  If the teenager takes the car, he has to play by the parent's rules, even if it drives him crazy.  (That's never worked with my teenagers, but it's my theory anyway.)  And I know everybody is quick to spend the Lerner's money, but they could surely pay for the hotel so the whole proceeds goes whereever it is supposed to go.

[tomterp]

Kasten needs to start thinking about the environment in which he's operating, and he needs to stop snapping at these people because they're not going to go away or become more understanding. 

I agree to a point, in that the Lerners seem to like to play hardball to such an extent that they antagonize people who might otherwise be helpful later.  They get a lot of bad press for being so tone deaf to how they are perceived.  Maybe they just need a better PR liason or something, and maybe a little better substance as well.

[Ericas Nats]

last i heard they are holding an event in seattle next summer.

its to support our west coast national fans.

:-D

[Obed_Marsh]

I think D.C. is on the right track with The Plan. They should concentrate on ensuring every man, woman, and child in the district attends Nationals games. After the franchise is secure, a fan commuter tax can be implemented to recover stadium expenses.

 

If you didn’t get the sarcasm at this point, grab a beer. (: I’m a D.C. resident but our team will only be viable in the long term if it is appealing to D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and beyond. In that sense, I enjoyed the Nats hat I saw a random local wearing in Korea. 

[ernie0326]

I HATE TO DISAGREE WITH MY FAMILY. I THINK THEY HAVE A LEGITIMATE COMPLAIN. AFFAIRS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR DC FIRST AND THE BURBS AFTGER.

I agree.  I think the Lerners and the DC gov't should have been able to work out some kind of arrangement to at least have the FIRST event celebrating the new stadium WITHIN DC.  It's just proper protocol IMO.  Of course, they can sponsor other events in MD and VA within their "jurisdiction" at any time.  But the INITIAL event....the KICKOFF....should have been held somewhere in DC.  Convention center, J.W. Marriott, Four Seasons, anywhere like that.

[natsfan1a]

I'm confused -- isn't the first event celebrating the new stadium going to be at the new stadium, in DC? My understanding is that the gala event has been held every year and is not tied to the stadium opening.

I think the Lerners and the DC gov't should have been able to work out some kind of arrangement to at least have the FIRST event celebrating the new stadium WITHIN DC.

[CALSGR8]

This is a big Gala where bigwigs go to donate to DC Children's Charities.  It isn't like Opening Day.  Usually its a month before the season starts.  I think if the Stadium were ready, it should have taken place even INSIDE the stadium to show off all those Club like areas.  I think because the stadium won't open until April, is why its being held elsewhere.

According to this article.  Last year they paid over 250,000 just to have it at a local Hotel.  The place in PG, I believe because its also as new as the stadium is, isn't charging anything to the NATIONALS for the location of the Gala.  All the proceeds from the Gala get put back into DC.

[blue911]

The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation seems to be run from the Cayman Islands.

[PC]

I agree.  I think the Lerners and the DC gov't should have been able to work out some kind of arrangement to at least have the FIRST event celebrating the new stadium WITHIN DC.  It's just proper protocol IMO.  Of course, they can sponsor other events in MD and VA within their "jurisdiction" at any time.  But the INITIAL event....the KICKOFF....should have been held somewhere in DC.  Convention center, J.W. Marriott, Four Seasons, anywhere like that.

The problem with that thinking is that, from the reporting, DC officials don't want ANY events held outside of the boundaries of the District of Columbia.  The fact that it's the first means nothing to them.  It could be the first, the fifth, the twenty-eighth, the five hundred-seventy ninth.  They should all be in the District of Columbia, according to those officials.

[CALSGR8]

There's definitely no pleasing the City Council.