Out of Control

Some background:

The council, at the insistence of Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), approved stadium financing legislation last month mandating that half the project be funded with private money. Major League Baseball officials said that District officials were free to pursue private money, but they convinced Cropp to remove a clause in the legislation that said the project would die if no private financing were found.

The situation looked bleak, but now eight groups have submitted offers for private financing :

The financing plan approved by the council allows District officials to issue nearly $550 million in bonds. If enough private money is found, the bonds could be paid off without a gross receipts tax on city businesses.

For more on this topic, see this recent post on Florida’s stadium drama.