Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and the Phillies
"repeatedly dismissed reports" yesterday that the team had
chosen Broad and Spring Garden Streets as their new ballpark
site, according to Christopher Hepp of the PHILADELPHIA
INQUIRER. Rendell: "It should not be a surprise to anyone
that that is the Phillies' preferred site. The Phillies
have always preferred Broad and Spring Garden Streets if the
logistics can be worked out and if the dollars can be worked
out." PA State Sen. Vincent Fumo, whose district includes
the site, said, "There will not be a stadium at Broad and
Spring Garden Streets. I don't care what [the Phillies]
want, they are not going to get a stadium there. The mayor
called me this morning and reaffirmed that I have the final
say in this." Rendell, in response to Fumo: "I've told the
Phillies that before we go anywhere with this, they need to
talk to him and that hasn't happened" (INQUIRER, 5/19).
OPEN THE BOOKS? Rendell said he has not seen the
Phillies' financial records, but has been told by the team
that they have lost "close to" $50M since '93, despite a
recent report in Forbes (see THE DAILY, 5/18) that said the
Phillies made $4.5M last year. Rendell: "It might behoove
the Phillies to make some of this information public."
Phillies President David Montgomery: "The mayor's assessment
of the situation is a lot closer than Forbes magazine."
Montgomery also "declined to discuss the possibility" of
opening the team's books (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/19).
REAX: In Philadelphia, Claire Smith writes the
Phillies, "anonymous and ignored, are forced to resort to
that now-tired formula of the '90s, dangling the idea of a
new ballpark like a carrot in front of their success-starved
fans. ... The unspoken question about this new stadium
routine is this: How much of an effect can all of this
spending have in terms of making a team competitive if
everyone else is doing the same thing?" (INQUIRER, 5/19).
