UPDATE: MLB Signs Lease for $611M Baseball Stadium

WASHINGTON, DC-Construction may soon begin on the Washington Nationals baseball stadium now that Major League Baseball has signed a 30-year lease with the District for the 41,000-seat sports arena. The deal came on Sunday after weeks of haggling over a bevy of details regarding lease terms with city officials. Essentially, MLB agreed to the terms set out by the City Council’s most recent lease proposal, but with the stipulation that the Council impose no further conditions on the lease. For previous coverage, click here .

Among the details of the agreement between MLB and the city is the $611-million development cap that the council called for last month, as well as MLB’s commitment to contribute $20 million for the stadium’s development. The ballpark is being built predominantly with public funds, specifically $535 million in tax-exempt and taxable bonds that cannot be sold until a lease agreement is in place. Additional development funds will come from other outside sources such as annual rent from the Nationals, and ticket and concession sales. Now that MLB has signed off on the agreement, the District has to give its final approval before construction can actually get under way. A ground breaking could take place as early as this spring.