News in Washington

It might be hard to believe, but things are starting to look bright for the 9 and 18 Washington Nationals. Major League Baseball picked a small group led by real estate developer Theodore Lerner to purchase the Washington Nationals. Another partner in this small group is former Atlanta Braves executive Stan Kasten. Bud Selig announced this $450 million agreement Wednesday. Lerner's group was selected over many owners who have worked to bring baseball back to the capital. Selig seems enthusiastic because he has no question that they are going to spend the money to become a competitive powerhouse. They don't want no relapses from Montreal, where attendance was low along with low revenue. Kasten said that they were going to focus on pitching, player development, and they were going to spend some money on their minor league teams. The organization also gets to look forward to a new ballpark that is projected to cost around $610 million, which will be ready for the 2008 season. I believe that with new ownership that is willing to spend money the Washington Nationals will quickly jump back in the postseason hunt and stay there till the end of the regular season. Economically, this is big for the city of Washington and the Major League. With a new owner there is the possibility that the money they bring into the organization will create a larger salary cap and a larger salary cap will allow managementt to bring in top players, which then will increase attendance. Do you think that Major League Baseball made a wise choice to allow a small group to buy the Washington Nationals?