Nationals Stadium 'Public' Faces
Plausible Dupes for the Desecration
of US NCPC's Extending the Legacy Planning

Nationals MLB Franchise Owners:
The Lerner Group


May 3, 2006: Mark D. Lerner, Theodore N. Lerner, Stan Kasten, Robert K. Tanenbaum, Faye Fields and Rodney E. Slater, members of the Lerner Group, at a press conference at the Fairmont Hotel in the District, announcing their selection by MLB' Selig, culminating a months long competition for the privilege to purchase this Washington Nationals baseball team franchise for the $450 million price set by Major League Baseball's member teams. Illustration from (The Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050301121.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/02/AR2006050202006.html

July 2003: The Lerner Group's purchase of this Washington Nationals MLB team franchise is formally finalized.

The Washington Nationals today announced the official transfer of ownership from Major League Baseball to an ownership group headed by Washington developer Theodore N. Lerner, his son Mark D. Lerner, sons-in-law Edward L. Cohen, and Robert K. Tanenbaum, and their families. Ted Lerner will be the Managing Principal Owner of the team and Mark Lerner, Cohen and Tanenbaum will be Principal owners of the team. All major decisions will be made together as a board with team President Stan Kasten. In addition, the members of the minority ownership group each have deep ties to Washington, DC and a shared commitment with the Lerner family to make the Nationals a long-term successful franchise in Washington.

"It has long been my dream to bring the national pastime back to my hometown, the nation's capital," said Ted Lerner, Managing Principal Owner. "Now that it's been realized, I plan on doing everything I can to make sure that this franchise becomes an international jewel for MLB, D.C. and the nation."

Founding Partners in the Lerner group are Paxton K. Baker, President of BET Event Productions and Executive Vice President and General Manager of BET Digital Networks for Black Entertainment Television (BET); James T. Brown, newly-named host of the CBS Television Network's NFL pre-game show, The NFL Today, and the play-by-play announcer for the Network's coverage of college basketball; Faye F. Fields, President and CEO of Integrated Resource Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of management support services and information management services to government agencies; Alphonso Maldon, Jr., Senior Vice President, Corporate Banking for PNC Bank and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Policy; B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr., President and CEO of Industrial Bank N.A., the largest minority-owned commercial bank in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area; Raul R. Romero, President and CEO of Alliance Consulting Group, LLC, a marketing consulting group to public and private organizations headquartered in the District of Columbia; Rodney E. Slater, partner at Patton Boggs, LLP and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation; and Jarvis C. Stewart, Chairman and Managing Partner of Stewart Partners, LLC, a government and Public Affairs Firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060724&content_id=1572870&vkey=pr_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

The Lerner's Washington Nationals ownership group's principle members include:

http://www.lernerenterprises.com/newsArchives/natsLernerFamily.html
http://www.lernerenterprises.com/newsArchives/natsAdBios.html


Mark D. Lerner

Mark D. Lerner is a principal of Lerner Enterprises, which was founded more than 50 years ago by his father, Ted Lerner. The company's development activity is mainly concentrated in the D.C. metropolitan area and includes numerous major office, retail, hotel and residential projects. Currently he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., and also serves on the several other boards. He is vice president of The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation, which provides support to many worthwhile organizations.

http://www.washingtoncaps.com/team/lerner.asp

Theodore N. Lerner, father of Mark D. is a founding partner of Lerner Enterprises, a real estate development entity, who has long expressed interest in owning a professional sports team:

Balancing vision and innovation with experience and integrity, Lerner Enterprises has been a respected leader in Washington area development. Its founding partner, Theodore N. Lerner, established principles early in his career which he and his family have maintained in guiding the family-owned and operated organization.

Well known for its involvement in high-profile properties such as White Flint, Tysons II, White Flint North, Washington Square, Dulles Town Center and Tysons Corner Center, Lerner Enterprises develops and their affiliate Lerner Corporation leases and manages large scale office buildings, office and business parks, regional malls and shopping centers, hotels, residential communities, mixed-use facilities and land development projects. More than 20 million square feet of commercial and retail space, as well as more than 22,000 private homes and 6,000 apartment homes, comprise an impressive portfolio, a portfolio which illustrates the diverse capabilities of Lerner Enterprises to plan, develop, and construct well-designed and high-quality properties to their greatest potential.

http://www.lernerenterprises.com/corporate.html

When Theodore N. Lerner was a young man growing up on Fifth Street in Northwest, he would walk several blocks to Griffith Stadium, where the future real estate mogul took a job as an usher because he couldn't afford to buy a ticket to watch the Senators.

"I didn't have the money for admission in those days -- I think it was less than 50 cents a ticket -- so I took a job as an usher to get in," Lerner said. "My dream was some day to be the owner of the team." After three decades of failed attempts to buy a Major League Baseball team, Lerner, 79, is now the closest he has ever been to fulfilling his dream. He and his close-knit family, who operate a vast real estate empire in the Washington region, are among the leading contenders of the eight bidders for the Washington Nationals.

"After the heartbreak of seeing our Senators leave the city twice, I never thought that I'd ever see big league baseball return to D.C. in my lifetime," Lerner said. "Now that it is back, I am deeply committed to assuring that it remains here, is played in a first-class facility which people can enjoy, and is operated in a way that brings the community a common source of pride and joy that serves as a community bond. I hope this will be a lasting legacy I can leave to my family and to the community where I was born and raised."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110302067.html

A legacy of stopping the extension of another legacy.



Stan Kasten, an Atlanta, Georgia professional sports executive, was selected to be the President of the Washington Nationals.

http://www.businessofbaseball.com/kasten_interview.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041800959.htmlnt/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041800959.html
http://www.harrywalker.com/speakers_template.cfm?spea_id=779
http://bobnebel.tripod.com/kastenprofile.html

Robert K. Tanenbaum, is one of Theodore Lerner's son-in-laws.

Robert K. Tanenbaum, who has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for more then 35 years, is a Principal of Lerner Enterprises, the largest private real estate developer in the Washington, D.C. area. He is also a Principal Owner of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. He is a graduate of Union College and The George Washington University National Law Center. Mr. Tanenbaum is on the Board of Imagination Stage, a local theater arts center that nurtures young people of all abilities through participation in professional theater arts education experiences. He and his wife are also involved in a variety of other educational, political and community activities.
http://www.lernerenterprises.com/newsArchives/natsLernerFamily.html

Edward L. Cohen, is also one of Theordore Lerner's son-in-laws.

Edward L. Cohen, who has lived in Washington, D.C. for almost 40 years, is a Principal of Lerner Enterprises, the largest private real estate developer in the Washington, D.C. area. He is also a Principal Owner of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and from Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Cohen has been a member of various corporate, charitable, and educational boards. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of The Weizmann Institute of Science and on the Board and Executive Committee of Junior Achievement of the Greater Washington Area.
http://www.lernerenterprises.com/newsArchives/natsLernerFamily.html

The Lerner’s Washington Nationals ownership group’s other members include:

Paxton K. Baker, President of BET Event Productions and Executive Vice President and General Manager of BET Digital Networks for Black Entertainment Television (BET)

James T. Brown, newly-named host of the CBS Television Network's NFL pre-game show, The NFL Today, and the play-by-play announcer for the Network's coverage of college basketball

Faye Fields, President and CEO of Integrated Resource Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of management support services and information management services to government agencies:

She has 30 years of corporate organization development and management experience with 20 years experience managing Federal Government contracts from start-up to completion for military and civilian organizations. She formed IRT in 1986 growing from $200,000 in 1998 to over $10 million in revenue in 2004. The company grew over 40%per year from 2000-2004. She holds a BS and MS from the University of Cincinnati, and completed all of the course work for a PhD in Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati. http://www.irti.com/

Alphonso Maldon, Jr., Senior Vice President, Corporate Banking for PNC Bank and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Policy;




B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr., President and CEO of Industrial Bank N.A., the largest minority-owned commercial bank in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area;





Raul R. Romero, President and CEO of Alliance Consulting Group, LLC, a marketing consulting group to public and private organizations headquartered in the District of Columbia;








Rodney E. Slater, former Administrator of the U.S. Federal Highway Authority (1993-1997), and the U.S .Department of Transportation (1997-2001), who is currently an attorney at the Washington, D.C. law firm Patton and Boggs, specializing in:

Transportation and Infrastructure
Public Policy and Lobbying
Defense and National Security

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater helps clients integrate their interests in the overall vision for the transportation system of the 21st Century—a vision he set as transportation secretary to promote a safer, more efficient, environmentally sound and sustainable worldwide transportation infrastructure. Mr. Slater also helps state and local government clients address the vexing challenge of closing the gap between transportation demand and capacity by employing public/private strategies and innovative financing solutions. Mr. Slater's practice focuses on many of the policy and transportation objectives that were set under his leadership, including aviation competition and congestion mitigation, maritime initiatives, high-speed rail corridor development, and overall transportation safety and funding. He continues to embrace the framework he established as secretary for making transportation decisions that called for more open, collaborative and flexible decision making across the transportation enterprise here and abroad.

Mr. Slater’s bipartisan and inclusive approach to problem solving has earned him tremendous respect and admiration on both sides of the aisle, enabling him to have one of the best relationships with the White House, Congress, and business, labor and political leaders worldwide in the history of the Department of Transportation (DOT). His work at DOT forever altered America’s and the world’s appreciation of transportation as more than just concrete, asphalt and steel. Mr. Slater brings the same strategic, results-oriented and collaborative approach to his public policy practice.

As secretary of transportation under President Bill Clinton, Mr. Slater passed several historic legislative initiatives over his tenure, including the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which guaranteed a record $200 billion in surface transportation investment though 2003, and the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), which provides a record $46 billion to improve the safety and security of the nation’s aviation system. Under his leadership, the federal transportation budget doubled and in the department’s "best in government" strategic and performance plans, the scope and definition of transportation was expanded to include a focus on safety, mobility and access, economic development and trade, the environment and national security.

Previous to his tenure as transportation secretary, Mr. Slater served as director of the Federal Highway Administration, where—as the agency’s first African-American Administrator in its century-long history—he oversaw the development of an innovative financing program that resulted in hundreds of transportation projects being completed two to three years ahead of schedule with greater cost efficiencies. Over that time, the federal transportation budget increased an unprecedented 104 percent. Additionally, the department’s FY2001 budget of nearly $60 billion is the largest ever.

Professional Affiliations:

Former Secretary of Transportation
Former Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
Former Director of Government Relations, Arkansas State University
Former Special Assistant for Economic and Community Programs to then-Governor Bill Clinton
Former Executive Assistant for Community and Minority Affairs to then-Governor Bill Clinton
Former Assistant Attorney General, Litigation Division of the Arkansas State Attorney General’s Office
Former Secretary-Treasurer, Arkansas Bar Association
Special Liaison, Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission
Arkansas State Highway Commission, (1987-1992)

Rodney E. Slater was named Secretary of Transportation on February 14, 1997. He is the 13th Secretary in the 30-year history of the Department, and only the third Arkansan in American history to ever hold a position in the President's cabinet.

President Clinton said in nominating Slater: "he has built bridges both of steel and of goodwill to bring people closer together." As Secretary, Slater is working to build the President's bridge to the 21st century as well as the nation's airports, highways, railroads, mass transit, and maritime resources. The Department, which has 100,000 employees and a budget of more than $40 billion, also includes the United States Coast Guard.

As Secretary, Slater likes to say: "I believe that transportation is about more than concrete, asphalt, and steel. It is truly about people and providing them the opportunity to be successful and responsible individuals."

Under his leadership, the Department developed a strategic plan that Congress rated the best among all federal agencies. He also worked with Congress to increase investments in infrastructure by 12 percent in fiscal 1998, to the highest levels of any Secretary in history.


So, what is Slater's position on the South Capitol Street corridor's vehicular tunnel that was proposed in the 2003 NCPC and DCDOP reports, but which gets sidelined by the November 2003 Urban Land Institute Advisory Services Panel Report in favor of expedited real estate development?

Likewise, what's his position on placing the new Nationals Stadium so close to a future planned RR? The site is within 1/3 of a mile of the existing through D.C. heavy RR, which is roughly the distance between RFK to the RR further east. But it's within only 250' or so of where that RR is planned to be relocated into a new RR tunnel, for a RR that might allow HAZMATs including chlorine, of which a terrorists' derailment could kill 60,000 people in and around Capitol Hill, with this stadium potentially upping that figure by 41,000 to just over 100,000. Would this tunnel be able to contain such chemicals?

This is of course assuming that the authorities adopt the alternative proposal of routing freight into this new north south tunnel.

Future D.C. rail tunnel
from "Extending the Legacy: Planning America's Capital for the 21st Century"

Jarvis C. Stewart, Chairman and Managing Partner of Stewart Partners, LLC, a government and Public Affairs Firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.

This blogger is not aware if this list of investors is necessarily all inclusive.

SP-Owners Photos by Michael Williamson 5/03/06 -- New Nationals owners and wives pose for a group shot.NAMES: From left to right (back row) Mark Lerner, James T. Brown, Edward L. Cohen, Jarvis C. Stewart, George Munoz, Paxton K. Baker, Theodore Lerner, Rodney E. Slater, Raul R. Romero, Stan Kasten and Robert Tanenbaum. From left to right (front row) Judy Lerner (Mark Lerner's wife) Debra Cohen (Edward L. Cohen's wife), Annette Lerner (Ted Lerner's wife) Marla Tanenbaum (Wife of Robert Tanenbaum) Faye F. Fields and B. Doyle Mitchell Jr.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050301121.html?referrer=email">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050301121.html?referrer=email