January 29, 2007
Abe Pollin Wants Some, Too
Ever since the District agreed to build the Washington Nationals a brand-new, $611 million stadium, pretty much everyone in the region who owns a sports team has been demanding a handout of their own -- D.C. United has announced plans to build itself a new stadium on Poplar Point in exchange for the development rights of the surrounding land, and even the Washington Redskins have expressed interest in moving back to the city. Now Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards and sole funder of the $211 million Verizon Center in which they play, wants the District to give him $50 million to upgrade his Chinatown-based arena. And he might get it.
Few question the role of the Verizon Center in helping spur the development that now exists around Chinatown, and it would seem to be in the city's best interest to put money into keeping the arena as attractive and accessible as possible. But Pollin wants to use the majority of the money to spruce up the arena's 110 luxury suites, a project that, if publicly funded, would surely spark complaints as to its merit as a work of general public value (especially when such a subsidy would be financed by additional taxes on tickets). D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D) seems to think as much, having stated the following to the Post:
Abe Pollin feels that he helped the city through tough times. I don't think anyone would deny that. But I think there has to be a strong case for what the District taxpayers are going to get out of this.But who is Grey to talk? After all, the majority of the council deemed the baseball stadium worthy of public expenditure, even though most analysts saw it as the sweetheart deal to end all sweetheart deals. And Pollin's request probably is in the public interest -- after all, nicer luxury suites means they'll sell for more, allowing Pollin to continue to pay the mortgage on the arena and sending more tax revenues to public coffers. It also bears mentioning that the Verizon Center isn't a one-trick pony -- it also plays host to the Washington Mystics, the Washington Capitals and countless performances by some of the country's biggest artists.
But as Matt Yglesias points out, Pollin seems less concerned with whether the region's market will bear his new suites (which would increase in annual price from $100,000 to $450,000) and more concerned with having the District give him an after-the-fact subsidy for his help in revitalizing the neighborhood. This a tough pill to swallow, but considering how much money will have gone to the baseball stadium when the bills are all tallied, his request is comparatively conservative.
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in council debate. Pollin's request may not be high on merits, but it's well-timed, and he's got a lot to hold over the heads of the councilmembers. They can turn him down, but he'll make them look like a bunch of hypocrites and ingrates. After all, if baseball got some, why can't Abe?
Picture snapped by Grundlepuck
|
yeah! look at all the great things the verizon (nee MCI) center has done.
Now we have first-class chinese restaurants like California tortilla and Ruby Tuesdays. And you can watch the chinese new year parade in front of the multi-culti backdrop that is benneton.
fucking fabulous.
I'm not mad at Abe. Is he being a little greedy? Maybe, but the truth is that he put his money where his mouth was and built an arena that anchors what is now a destination area in DC.
I like to hate on chains as much as anyone, but they have their place: downtown attracting tourists and their dollars.
Is there a legitimate reason for the sprucing-up of the suites? Are they run-down or in need of refurbishing, or is it just to make them more tony and command a higher selling price? If it's the latter, it seems like Pollin needs to suck up that investment.
if we have it, Abe should get a slice to gussy up the arena. Anyone remember driving out to PG county to check out a Wiz/Bullets game? That sucked. Plus, the arena did initiate the vitality in that area. All of it positive? Of course not (read: magpie dc), but overall I think the positives have outweighed the negatives, and through charity he has given a lot to the folks in this city.
I was in a suite at the Verizon Center about six weeks ago and it looked fine to me, but they haven't been upgraded in any way since the place opened though. I would imagine that the renovations would go for things like flat panel monitors in the boxes, maybe wireless internet for the whole place; basically things that would make Verizon a premier facility instead of one that's almost ten years old and starting to show its age a bit.
Yeah -- because you know chinatowns do not attract tourists in any city. Nor the 100s of artists that once called that area home. Did they need help promoting themselves? Expanding the area? Sprucing up their buildings? Sure enough. But they didn't need to be run out of town and over by the corporate express.
There is plenty of room in DC for corporate businesses and downtown without continually looking for new areas in which to replace the authentic experience with homogenized crap.
If DC is really serious about promoting itself and creating its own identity -- it needs to stop trying to turn every commercial district into a clone of suburban Atlanta. I don't know if this is an issue of taste -- wherein DC doesn't seem to have political and business leaders that have any -- or people being blinded by money where none before existed. (When you've been down so long everything is up?)
DC1974 - I respectfully disagree with your take on the situation. The artists and venues that used to be downtown do what they always do, find another devalued area of town to colonize and breath new life into.
While I have wistful memories of being ankle-deep in some sort of liquid muck at the old 930 watching the Bad Brains play circa '88, there's no denying that the "new" space is nicer and a much more pleasant place to be in general. Are there now unbearable tools rolling their Ranges to go see Yo-yo Tango at the 930 now? Sure, but I avoid the place on those nights and feel compensated by being able to have a Maker's & coke or 7 when I go see GWAR or Fu Manchu.
The chains downtown are a relatively recent phenomenon; the movie theater, bowling alley, (sub)urban outfitters, et al. are all new arrivals to that part of town. The artists and hookers who used to call that part of town home were gone long before Fuddruckers made the scene.
I like Abe Pollin and appreciate what the MCI Center has done for downtown DC, but voting against this is a no-brainer for any council member. Abe, pony up the cash for the skybox improvements yourself and hit the DC Council up for cash for items that perform a "greater good" for taxpayers.
And if you want to go to the Chinatown Fuddruckers, be my guest- keeps the line at the Five Guys that much shorter for me:) The only worthwhile thing that I can name that the chains replaced was the oriental supermarket, but that wasn't great to begin with.
I don't have that much of a problem with it, especially if its funded 100% in a way suggested by the Wa Po article (e.g. raising the ticket tax to 10%, like the one on for Nats tickets, and using the incremental tax revenues directly for the suites and the scoreboard improvements
I heard this story over the weekend and laughed out loud. This is a shakedown plain and simple. I always liked the fact the Abe built his stadium with his money --shocking concept-- but im sure he's looking at the nats ballpark deal and thinking what a sucker he was. and now he's going to squeeze us for a few bucks as a thank you to him for helping revitalize the area. Abe can stick it.
As a former Chinatown resident, I can assure Abe that the residents are very appreciative of what mci center did for that area, but he got a lot of tax breaks out of the deal as well and the revitalization of the area and easy access to it has probably helped keep seats filled in the stadium and attracted more special events that he couldn't get out in landover. Abe is making money hand over fist and can afford to upgrade his luxury boxes with the coin he's taking in from the gate. Hopefully fenty has the moxie to very diplomatically squash this nonsensical request.
Fenty better get cingular with Abe because this is some b.s. His teams at the most have been barely .500 and the product is not entertaining unless you enjoy watching Gilbert Arenas chuck 3's from half court all game. He did improve Downtown and his presence draws mucho dollars for downtown but lets not get unrealistic.
Stupid, stupid stupid. Abe is rich. DC, for the most part is poor. We don't need to bankroll millionaires anymore in this town. If this dude takes his teams out of this city then so be it. Using public money to invest in areas where 90% of the public will never afford (luxury suites) is plain blasphemous.
Hmm.. I guess I don't think that a constantly roving band of artsists and performaning spaces is a good thing. In fact, I think this does a lot to harm the DC arts and music community from having a permanent presence -- one that continues to spawn and nurture new talent and new directions.
In fact, I think at some point (sometimes earlier for some than others), the artists begin to think that constantly being on the run from the following hordes of developers -- it's just better to move to a city that values its artist districts. That actively works to create a support network. And doesn't look at those spaces as the next cash cow.
That is the lesson for how Providence, RI, and similar cites have rejuvenated -- it worked to actively support artists and made them owners of their buildings so that they could grow as artists and entrepreneurs. Even SOHO -- despite its now sky rocketing rent -- is really an example of a city putting its faith in artists to reinvent a failing district. And their examples of this from coast to coast.
DC lost too much of what made DC unique in the 1980s and the 1990s -- and what could have been nurtured into the type of growth and redevelopment some would seem to like. Instead it sold out to the highest bidder. Not at all caring about what was here and how becoming "any city" would affect our overall quality of life. So the artists and assorted bohos left for Baltimore, New York, San Francisco, Philly. And taken their creativity and brain trust with them -- and DC is NOT better for it. In fact, its more milquetoast and bleached out than ever.
These are not net positives.
"His teams at the most have been barely .500 and the product is not entertaining unless you enjoy watching Gilbert Arenas chuck 3's from half court all game."
Leaving aside the year that they won the championship (I know, 30 years ago) AND the last two years they've gone to the playoffs, I really have to ask if you've watched any Wizards games. Ever.
Leaving aside the year that they won the championship (I know, 30 years ago) AND the last two years they've gone to the playoffs, I really have to ask if you've watched any Wizards games. Ever
**********************************************8
Yeah I have and let me tell you Dog Collins, Bernie Bickerstaff and Gar Heard were master strategist. The way they got their teams to lay down every night like special forces storming a beach was magnificent. I think Prarie View University would be absolutely jealous with the results.
Does it really count as city funding if it's being paid for entirely by the tax on the tickets for events there? As long as that tax hike covers the whole tab -- and there's a provision in some contract that says the District isn't stuck with any cost overruns -- what's the harm in giving Pollin the money? People who go to the place are going to pay for it, either way.
Also, I remember going to plays at the Shakespeare Theater once before the arena was built, when it seemed like the only businesses open after dark at 7th and F were the theater, Jaleo and some hookers. I don't go to the new Chinatown much, and I don't like chain stores any more than anyone else, but that development of eastern downtown helped revitalize all of the old business district, which was dying out pretty fast in the 80s. It's not just the Fuddruckers and the Ruby Tuesdays or whatever, it's also the fact that other people were willing to sign leases in that part of town. Yes, obviously, that includes chain stores and office buildings, but it also includes the Spy Museum, locally owned restaurants like Jose Andres's other ones, an arthouse movie theater and some newer galleries.
Looking back at the late 1980s and early 1990s and wishing the District had planned the development better is fine, but blaming Abe Pollin for the fact that no one in the city made an effort to make the neighborhood interesting seems a little unfair.
The only constant is change. -Heraclitus
I'll concede that DC is waaaaaaaay more whitebread than ever, but so what?
Don't get all misty on me DC1974, you make it sound like art and theater are dead or dying in DC. IMHO the landscape has changed and evolved, but better or worse is strictly a matter of opinion.
Go back to my example of the 930 club; was it better back in the day or now? More than anything else, they're different and not in competition with each other if you ask me.
DC needs all the help it can get to maintain a certain level of attractivenes to get tourists and residents there to spend money.
Yeah, Abe's trying for a handout, thats how he got rich. But for a city thats wasted money on worse things, it may be an investment in the future that could be recouped many times over.
blah blah I hate sports blah blah let's give the money to our schools who really know how to spend it blah blah gentrification blah blah i'd rather eat at the 37th low quality shady chinese restaurant than have a starbucks, but at least it gives me a window to break if the WTO ever comes to town.
'Cos we all want drug dealers and hookers around chinatown just like before the MCI Center went up, yeah! downtown DC (and for that matter DC government) rawked back in the 70's and 80's!
Cos we all want drug dealers and hookers around chinatown just like before the MCI Center went up, yeah! downtown DC -and for that matter DC government- rawked back in the 70's and 80's!
This makes me sick. DC could put that money into revitalizing the MLK LIBRARY or building a park. My biggest question is, if Verizon an pay for the name, why can't they pay for Abe's plans?
I found this article very interesting and I included it in my website. Check it out, I wrote a very intersting article on Abe Polin: www.joeypfromdc.blogspot.com