Washington has rejected the idea of publicly fiancing a baseball stadium for the to-be-renamed Expos:

On Tuesday, the City Council answered with an ambiguous maybe. Facing evidence that Washingtonians are deeply concerned about publicly financing a new stadium, the council delayed a final vote on a plan that would have relied heavily on tax money to finance a $435 million ballpark along the Anacostia River. The moved stunned and infuriated supporters, led by Mayor Anthony A. Williams. But it thrilled opponents, including an array of economists, religious groups and community activists who have argued that the stadium would drain money from vital city services like schools and libraries, while doing little to strengthen the economy. "I'm excited that this could kill public financing," said John Capozzi, an organizer with a coalition of community and education groups called No DC Taxes for Baseball. "This at least moves away from total capitulation to Major League Baseball."