Six
gay
businesses
slated
to
be
displaced
by
a
Southeast
D.C.
waterfront
baseball
stadium
might
have
been
saved
at
the
bell
Tuesday
night
when
D.C.
Council
Chair
Linda
Cropp
(D-At-Large)
stunned
her
colleagues
by
pushing
through
a
surprise
amendment.
Baseball
supporters
say
Cropp’s
amendment,
which
requires
private
financing
for
half
the
cost
of
the
new
stadium,
could
wreck
Mayor
Anthony
Williams’
stadium
deal
and
end
the
city’s
hope
of
obtaining
a
baseball
team.
Cropp’s
amendment
passed
by
a
10
to
3
vote
after
she
threatened
to
vote
“no”
on
the
overall
bill
authorizing
city
funding
for
the
stadium.
A
no
vote
by
Cropp
would
have
killed
the
stadium
deal.
The
Council
voted
7-6
to
approve
the
stadium
financing
proposal
with
Cropp’s
amendment.
Williams
said
he
would
try
to
persuade
baseball
owners
to
accept
the
50
percent
financing
requirement,
but
was
uncertain
of
the
outcome.
Baseball
officials
issued
a
statement
Wednesday
calling
the
council’s
action
“unacceptable
and
inconsistent
with
the
deal
signed
by
the
city,”
according
to
Reuters.
Major
League
Baseball
indicated
it
would
look
for
other
host
cities,
but
would
wait
until
the
agreement
with
the
District
expires
on
Dec.
31.
Bob
Siegel,
owner
of
the
buildings
in
which
five
of
the
six
gay
clubs
are
located
organized
an
aggressive
campaign
opposing
the
stadium
deal
through
ads
in
the
gay
press
and
posters
and
fliers
in
areas
near
gay
bars
and
clubs.
Similar
to
the
first
Council
vote
on
the
stadium
proposal
two
weeks
ago,
no
Council
members
discussed
the
issue
of
the
displacement
of
both
gay
and
non-gay
businesses
in
the
stadium
zone
during
the
Council
debate
Tuesday.
Club
owners
say
zoning
restrictions
would
most
likely
prevent
them
from
reopening
in
another
location
if
the
stadium
deal
is
approved
because
they
feature
adult
oriented
entertainment
such
as
male
nude
dancing.
