DC's Growth Machine is hard at it, well-funded, and odious: baseball edition

Image by North-40 Design.

It's pretty well understood in political economy circles and the study of urban planning that sectors of the local economy concerned with construction and development are lock-step followers and supporters of the "Growth Machine" agenda. It is the rare construction union or construction-related association that is against a big construction project...

Yahoo News reports (thanks for the headsup from the DCPCA e-newsletter), in South Capitol Ballpark Coalition Announces Public Campaign Urging City Council to Vote 'Yes' on the South Capitol Ballpark, that the "South Capitol Ballpark Coalition" began a campaign to educate DC residents on the benefits of a new baseball stadium and surrounding development projects in anticipation of the upcoming Council vote.

The campaign, which includes radio ads and mailings, will urge residents to contact their Councilmembers and tell them to vote “yes” on the new stadium deal. The South Capitol Ballpark Coalition includes: District of Columbia Building Industry Association; Forest City Enterprises; Greater Washington Board of Trade; Monument Realty; Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington; Washington Baseball Club; Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation; and Western Development Corporation.

Every one of these organizations has strong pro-business ties, if a nonprofit, and the developers listed (Forest City, Monument Realty, and Western Development) are prominent developers locally and nationally, and have many inside connections to various DC government-government instrumentality-funded projects.

Forest City is involved with the redevelopment of Waterfront Mall. Monument Realty is involved in the Anacostia Waterfront development project and is one of the only property owners to willingly sell property to the DC Government for the baseball stadium. Herb Miller's Western Development Company has been involved in various proposals for the baseball stadium and is one of the owners of Gallery Place on land assembled by a DC government agency. He also suggested building a bunch of big box retail adjacent to the stadium(!!!???).

In my opinion, I will say that it appears to be a conflict of interest for the Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation, as a recipient of DC tax monies, to be lobbying directly in favor of the baseball stadium in advance of a vote on this matter.

Similarly, it is unseemly that the Executive Branch sponsored DC Government website prominently promotes that "The Southeast Stadium Is a Home Run for DC" in a highly visible position on the landing page of the municipal website.

Because support for the stadium is split at this time, it feels wrong to me that government public relations are harnessed to fully favor the stadium, without provide equal or at least some access to alternative perspectives.

According to DCPCA, the mailer reads:

It’s Time for DC to Decide: Invest in the Future of Our City…or Let a Great Opportunity Slip Away

The South Capitol Ballpark & Anacostia Waterfront Development: An Investment for a Stronger DC

Soon, the City Council will vote on the new South Capitol Ballpark. But the vote is about more than just a baseball stadium…it’s about building something that will serve the entire DC community for decades to come.

A “YES” vote on the ballpark will mean:

YES to thousands of new jobs in construction, at the ballpark and at the restaurants, stores, hotels and businesses that will spring up around the ballpark
YES to new opportunities for local and minority owned businesses
YES to million of dollars in new tax revenue for our schools, libraries and hospitals
YES to a $450 million community development fund
YES to revitalizing Southeast, DC…the same way downtown was revitalized by the MCI Center

Above all, the new ballpark and development will be a symbol of our community’s belief in the future of Washington, DC

But a “NO” vote will mean:
NO revitalization. NO jobs. NO community development fund. NO investment in our future.

Call the City Council. Tell them to Vote “YES” on the South Capitol Ballpark.
Vote YES on DC’s Future CALL (202) 724-8000
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This is disgusting and to be totally expected. It really makes me feel sorry about being a DC resident.



Index Keywords: baseball