Team and city officials this week discussed the possibility of athird round of interim public financing, as well as an increasedprivate investment of the project by Padres owner John Moores. Butultimately, the two sides have agreed the project is likely toremain on hold until the US Attorney's Office concludes itsinvestigation into whether councilwoman Valerie Stallings had animproper financial association with Moores.

Work on the $400-million project is scheduled to stop Mondaywhen the second round of interim construction funding expires.Mayor Susan Golding says the investigation will delay, not doom,the widely anticipated redevelopment project.

But the team has rebuffed Golding's suggestion to move theproject forward with private funds, saying it doesn't comply withthe previously signed agreement between the city and the team,Padres spokesman Charles Steinberg says. "We continue to believethat it is prudent though painful to suspend constructionactivities on the ballpark until there is certainty that the citycan meet its financial obligation of $225 million in ballparkconstruction costs," Steinberg says, quoting from a statementreleased by the team late Tuesday.