Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Major League Baseball is close to a tentative agreement with the city that would clear the way for a new stadium for the Washington Nationals and the long-awaited sale of the team. D.C. Council Chair Linda W. Cropp said Saturday on WRC-TV that a deal had been reached with baseball agreeing to contribute $20 million to a contingency fund and guarantee rent payments. However, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams said talks between city officials and baseball are still being held this weekend in Washington. "We're just not there yet. There are some people who feel a little more confident in saying," spokesman Vince Morris said. "I'd rather have it hand before I claim that we've got a deal." Baseball has said it will not sell the Nationals until there is a lease agreement. Eight bidders are ready to pay $450 million for the team, which is owned by the other 29 major league teams. If approved, the $20 million is expected to go toward covering expected cost overruns on the $535 million state-of-the-art ballpark project south of the Capitol. Baseball would agree to a letter of credit to pay the team's rent in case of a terrorist attack or players' strike. The Council must still approve the lease before any work can begin on the stadium. "We think we'll be in a spot within a week or so, maybe two weeks tops, where the Council will have had time to look at it and approve it," Morris said. "Our thought is shortly after that we'll be able to pull the trigger and start building the new stadium, which is what everybody's been hoping we'd do all along." Cropp said the vote could come Dec. 20 and the Council should have the lease next week. "The second we've got a deal that we feel is locked in place, we're absolutely going to go forward with it," Morris said. --

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