Council members want the city to explain why this property should be used for the ballpark but city officials were frustrated that council members had called the public hearing before their plans were ready. "The city is capable of addressing that issue forthrightly," Paul Walkowski, legislative aide to council president Jim Kelly, tells GlobeSt.com. "We submitted the order of meeting back in August. It is disingenuous to believe that they weren't ready." Calls to the office of Boston City Hall were not returned by press time but according to Walkowski, "They were unprepared to make a case this late in the game. They're just stalling."

Council members feel that city officials did not fully explore other potential sites for the ballpark. City and team officials were also unable to explain whether the Red Sox will get a tax break for a new stadium, whether the team will be able to absorb cost overruns, and whether the land the city is donating to the ballpark is equal to the streets it creates. City officials believe that the council's opposition to the project will deter potential ball team owners from looking at the Red Sox or from keeping the team in Boston. But, notes Walkowski, "If the Red Sox are a money-making proposition nothing will scare an owner away. And the new owner will have to make a decision about whether to stay here or not." If a new owner does decide to move the team, $100 million in state aid will be forfeited.

Councilwoman Maura A. Hennigan presented an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, which showed that the ballpark would cost the city $22 million a year. But city officials dismissed the analysis as inaccurate and insist that those costs won't be more than $12.1 million a year. Financing has still not been arranged for the project.