(Populous/DC United)
Plans to build a new D.C. United soccer stadium at Buzzard Point are moving forward, but without one major element that was originally part of the deal between the District of Columbia and the Akridge development company.
Originally, the proposed United stadium legislation called for a land-swap deal between the city and Akridge. The deal would have D.C. swapping the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center on 14th and U Street NW for a large portion of the land where the stadium would be built. But after a recently released report showed that the city would be losing a lot of money from the deal, several Councilmembers expressed concern.
Yesterday, a modified bill, which excludes the Reeves Center land-swap part, passed two Council committees—one chaired by Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) and mayor-elect Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and will be considered by the full D.C. Council in a vote next month. Both committees easily passed the modified bill of Mayor Vince Gray’s stadium proposal, which would now allow Bowser—who will take Gray’s job on January 2—to use eminent domain to obtain the land from Akridge needed to build the stadium, thus allowing the city to keep the Reeves center.
As part of the proposal, the city will pay $150 million towards land and infrastructure, while the team will pay $150 million toward building the stadium.
But, as the Post reports, there’s still some questions about the legislation up in the air:
The bill does not include a source of funding to replace the $37 million and land the city would have received through the Reeves swap. But Bowser said she was committed to finding money for the project through a combination of existing funds and new borrowing.
Bowser modified Gray’s original proposal, removing the Reeves Center land swap, saying during a committee hearing yesterday that “this is the only way it passes.”
“This stadium, and the investment in this stadium the government makes, offers the city an opportunity to transform vacant land in an area of the city that needs economic development,” she added.
In a statement, Gray expressed his support of the modified plan moving forward. “I am pleased two Council committees today marked up legislation that will move my soccer stadium proposal forward,” he said. “While I am concerned that the changes the Committees made today will likely increase the cost to District taxpayers and will delay construction by up to a year, I am confident my administration and the Council can work together to get a good deal to make the stadium happen.”
