Members of the District of Columbia Council had balked at an earlier plan to finance a new stadium along Washington’s southeast waterfront.
Officials amended their initial deal with Major League Baseball to include private financing. Baseball officials responded by suspending the team's promotional and business operations.
Williams, council chairwoman Linda Cropp and MLB officials then negotiated a deal that would allow some private financing. MLB and the city also agreed to split the price of insurance to cover cost overruns or construction delays, reports ESPN.com
The legislation clears the way to renovate RFK Stadium, where the Nationals will play from 2005. It also allows the city to sell up to $584million in bonds for construction of a 41,000-seat stadium.
