D.C. arena deal hits headwinds
3 min read
D.C. City Council
The bond-financed renovation of Capital One Arena in downtown Washington D.C. is encountering political hesitancy over labor requirements as it heads towards City Council approval.
“I have been laser focused on ensuring that the jobs created by this project go first and foremost to district residents,” said D.C. at-large Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, “and that district-based companies receive the bulk of the contracts associated with this project.”
On Thursday the deal moved closer to official completion as the City Council held the first public hearing on legislation that will also approve the city buying the arena from its current owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment for $87.5 million.
Monumental owns the two teams that play at the arena and will lease the building from the city under the new agreement.
In
Mayor Muriel Bowser quarterbacked the deal, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer has signed off on the terms of the debt issuance.
The district legally requires construction companies to hire a percentage of Washington residents as workers through its Certified Business Enterprise program and employs complicated rules for using non-labor union workers.
“I work with Monumental and their construction partner, Clark Construction, and I appreciate them agreeing with me that they could do more and should do more and will thus go above and beyond the legal requirement,” said McDuffie.
“Those discussions are ongoing, and thus far, have not produced the result that I’m seeking, but I’m confident, because I know we share the same values.”
The arena is in downtown Washington which has been hit hard by the work from home movement that includes many federal workers.
“The economic heartbeat of D.C. is facing a new reality,” said at-large Councilman Robert White.
“Office buildings are not filling up the way they did before, and they won’t again. It doesn’t matter what Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Muriel Bowser, asked people to do. It’s not going to happen.
“If we’re going to keep D.C. moving forward without cutting programs and placing more tax burden on residents, we have to adapt. We have to think beyond office space and reimagine downtown as a hub of entertainment, the arts and new housing.”
The decisions that led to buying the arena and issuing bonds to finance its renovation began in
The plan was knocked out by local and legislative opposition.
The D.C. council is soliciting public comments on the legislation until Nov. 25, and is expected to vote on the issues on Nov. 26.
