AROUND THE MAJORS

With San Diego city officials and Padre owners unable to agree on financing, work was halted indefinitely on a new downtown ballpark for the team.

Construction is 20% completed but the project has run out of money. The City Council is unable to sell the proposed $299 million in bonds to pay for the city’s 70% share of the project until federal investigators decide whether Councilwoman Valerie Stallings, a ballpark booster, violated the law by profiting on a stock tip from Padre owner John Moores.

The council has refused to provide additional interim financing; negotiations that would have secured private financing for the Padres broke down last week. The delay in construction, which could last for months, probably means the team will not be able to open the park July 4, 2002, as planned. Voters approved the ballpark project in 1998, but it has been hampered by lawsuits and the Stallings investigation.