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