Court Ruling Clears Way for Stadium Plans

WASHINGTON -- A local court ruling has helped pave the way for construction on a new baseball stadium in the District.

The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the District can proceed with its plans to acquire land for a new stadium on South Capitol Street.

The case involved land owners facing eviction in the area and the District's right to eminent domain. The Siegel Group, a corporation owned by Robert Siegel, filed the suit, and is one of the largest land owners facing eviction.

In the appeal, the Siegel Group asked the court for an injunction in D.C.'s eminent domain case, citing that the city does not have the right to take land from owners and that the District under-appraised the value of the land.

In its ruling, the court said decisions about eminent domain rest with the mayor and the city council and that courts do not have the authority to second guess the city's decisions.

The court also ruled that the District's estimates of the land value were made in good faith.

"Given the focus of the Council on enhancing revenue opportunities for the city and the legislation's overarching purpose to quickly and efficiently establish a site for a Major League team in the District, it is improbable that the Council intended to grant landowners the power to interfere with the economic development plans of the city by giving them the right to challenge the legitimacy of a reevaluation study ...," Chief Judge Eric T. Washington wrote.

Siegel, who is also an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner representing the neighborhood near the stadium site, declined to comment to WTOP regarding the ruling.

But sources familiar with the case call the ruling a major victory for the District. Had the city lost the case, it could have prevented the city from building a stadium along the Anacostia River.

A spokesperson for D.C. Mayor Tony Williams says the court's ruling shows how fair the city has been with property owners.

Bill Hall, Commissioner of baseball for the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, calls the ruling "an important decision for acquiring the land."

"It clears an important legal hurdle in order for the city to meet the deadlines to complete the ballpark by 2008. We are now more confident that we'll be able to start demolition in March as planned," Hall says.

The Siegel Group owns three parcels of land and 11 vacant lots on and around South Capitol Street in Southeast, where the city plans to build a new stadium for the Washington Nationals. Many of the establishments owned by the Siegel Group are gay nightclubs.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball says it's still studying the D.C. Council's emergency legislation on the stadium lease.

An MLB spokesman says they're still examining the documents approved early Wednesday but only released Thursday afternoon. Baseball says it won't respond until Friday at the earliest.

(Copyright 2006 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)