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Mariel Carbone
Guest
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) – One day after an announcement that D.C. Council leadership and the Washington Commanders have reached a tentative deal to bring the team back home to the District, signs of support are popping up in the area.
“I’m glad we’re moving forward,” said Britaini Carroll, who lives in Kingman Park, one of the neighborhoods closest to the RFK Stadium site. “I’ve been in this neighborhood for over 10 years and D.C. for 20 years. For the past almost decade, this stadium has been abandoned, pieces are falling off.”
Under the deal announced Thursday, D.C. is expected to receive up to $949 million in tax revenue and other support, including taxes from parking, merchandise, food and beverages.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DC Council schedules vote on RFK Stadium deal
The Commanders will also commit to funding $50 million in community benefits and moving senior leadership and sales offices to D.C.
In return, D.C. will pay around $1 billion in infrastructure and other costs.
The roughly $4 billion deal includes a 65,000-seat roofed stadium, 6,000 residential units -- of which 1,800 must be affordable -- retail and park space. The Commanders will cover $2.7 billion in costs.
In addition, $600 million from the Sports Facility Fee -- formerly known as the ballpark tax -- will go to transportation improvements.
“I think the negotiating on tax is good,” said Carroll. “The fact [that] they’re getting more parking tax back. I appreciate the owners of the Commanders are willing to negotiate.”
Carroll is hopeful the development will spark further investment and jobs in the Ward 7 and Ward 8 communities.
RELATED COVERAGE: House Oversight Committee calls on DC Council Chairman for swift action on RFK Stadium deal
“At the end of the day, we need investment, and I don’t know where else the investment would come from,” she said. “There’s a lot of economic generation this can bring in terms of investment of tax revenue, businesses, employing people in Ward 7 and Ward 8.”
Real estate agent Tam Nguyen said the stadium deal has been a selling point for some clients.
“My clients that are looking at Capitol Hill, they are pretty confident the stadium is going to happen,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons they’re looking here and making the investment in this community.”
Nguyen, who works for Keller Williams Metro Center, said many believe the stadium will ensure the area maintains its value.
“Any time a big project comes in, whether it’s Nats Stadium or this Commanders stadium, people assume businesses are going to follow, values are going to go up,” he explained.
Still, there are others in the District who are more skeptical of the deal.
“I don’t think people feel good about the agreement yet. I think it’s better,” said Lora Nunn.
Nunn is a member of the Friends of Kingman Park and helped work on a community benefits agreement proposal for the deal, laying out what the community expects out of the project.
“We haven’t seen the commitment from the Commanders that we want to see. Historically, the trouble with community benefits stuff is if it’s not in writing, it’s not enforceable,” she explained. “Even if it is in writing, it’s not enforceable.”
RELATED COVERAGE: ‘This is not the right investment for our city’: Washington Commanders RFK Stadium deal draws mixed reactions from DC Council
She’d like to see more environmental and transit commitments included in the deal, ensuring the area is safe for families who live nearby to move around.
She also believes the timing of the announcement and planned vote, just days before two public hearings, is disappointing.
“Many of us have signed up to testify on Tuesday. I think the community is definitely feeling a little deflated because it sounds like the hearing is going to be performative,” she said. “If we’re taking time to speak to council, we want to feel like they’re actually listening and not rushing to this vote.”
The Council is set to take its first vote on the deal next Friday, Aug. 1.
And while some Councilmembers have enthusiastically supported the deal, including Wendell Felder (Ward 7), Brooke Pinto (Ward 2) and At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, others aren’t as supportive.
“What’s now being fast-tracked for a vote does not reflect that progress. It doesn’t reflect our values, and it doesn’t prioritize residents. This deal is being sold to the public like it’s already done. But the costs are real, and they fall on D.C. residents,” said At-Large Councilmember Robert White in a statement.
White said he’d like to see anti-displacement protections and an end to the stadium seating tax exemption, among other things.
“We are being asked to use public land and public dollars to fund our own displacement. That’s the simple truth,” said White. “A stadium of this scale will drive up property taxes in surrounding neighborhoods and price out residents. And while a billionaire team owner walks away with millions in tax breaks, longtime residents, especially retirees on fixed incomes, will be stuck with the tab.”
RELATED COVERAGE: ‘Let’s bring the Commanders home’: Bowser, Washington Commanders announce nearly $3 billion RFK Stadium deal
Councilmember Charles Allen also posted on X, “We need a better deal. That’s a huge price to pay with not enough coming back to DC taxpayers & residents. Still time to get right."
Meanwhile, a report by the Office of the Budget Director found that while the stadium would generate more revenue in the short term, a mixed-use development without a stadium would generate more revenue in the long term.
According to the report, mixed-use development with a stadium would generate $2.4 billion in tax revenue by 2060, while a mixed-use development with no stadium would generate $3.4 billion in tax revenue by 2060.
“A key difference is that while a stadium likely generates more tax revenue than an equally sized residential development, the stadium proposal comes with a significant amount of land dedicated to large parking garages, which do not generate sizeable revenues,” stated the report.
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“I’m glad we’re moving forward,” said Britaini Carroll, who lives in Kingman Park, one of the neighborhoods closest to the RFK Stadium site. “I’ve been in this neighborhood for over 10 years and D.C. for 20 years. For the past almost decade, this stadium has been abandoned, pieces are falling off.”
Under the deal announced Thursday, D.C. is expected to receive up to $949 million in tax revenue and other support, including taxes from parking, merchandise, food and beverages.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DC Council schedules vote on RFK Stadium deal
The Commanders will also commit to funding $50 million in community benefits and moving senior leadership and sales offices to D.C.
In return, D.C. will pay around $1 billion in infrastructure and other costs.
The roughly $4 billion deal includes a 65,000-seat roofed stadium, 6,000 residential units -- of which 1,800 must be affordable -- retail and park space. The Commanders will cover $2.7 billion in costs.
In addition, $600 million from the Sports Facility Fee -- formerly known as the ballpark tax -- will go to transportation improvements.
“I think the negotiating on tax is good,” said Carroll. “The fact [that] they’re getting more parking tax back. I appreciate the owners of the Commanders are willing to negotiate.”
Carroll is hopeful the development will spark further investment and jobs in the Ward 7 and Ward 8 communities.
RELATED COVERAGE: House Oversight Committee calls on DC Council Chairman for swift action on RFK Stadium deal
“At the end of the day, we need investment, and I don’t know where else the investment would come from,” she said. “There’s a lot of economic generation this can bring in terms of investment of tax revenue, businesses, employing people in Ward 7 and Ward 8.”
Real estate agent Tam Nguyen said the stadium deal has been a selling point for some clients.
“My clients that are looking at Capitol Hill, they are pretty confident the stadium is going to happen,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons they’re looking here and making the investment in this community.”
Nguyen, who works for Keller Williams Metro Center, said many believe the stadium will ensure the area maintains its value.
“Any time a big project comes in, whether it’s Nats Stadium or this Commanders stadium, people assume businesses are going to follow, values are going to go up,” he explained.
Still, there are others in the District who are more skeptical of the deal.
“I don’t think people feel good about the agreement yet. I think it’s better,” said Lora Nunn.
Nunn is a member of the Friends of Kingman Park and helped work on a community benefits agreement proposal for the deal, laying out what the community expects out of the project.
“We haven’t seen the commitment from the Commanders that we want to see. Historically, the trouble with community benefits stuff is if it’s not in writing, it’s not enforceable,” she explained. “Even if it is in writing, it’s not enforceable.”
RELATED COVERAGE: ‘This is not the right investment for our city’: Washington Commanders RFK Stadium deal draws mixed reactions from DC Council
She’d like to see more environmental and transit commitments included in the deal, ensuring the area is safe for families who live nearby to move around.
She also believes the timing of the announcement and planned vote, just days before two public hearings, is disappointing.
“Many of us have signed up to testify on Tuesday. I think the community is definitely feeling a little deflated because it sounds like the hearing is going to be performative,” she said. “If we’re taking time to speak to council, we want to feel like they’re actually listening and not rushing to this vote.”
The Council is set to take its first vote on the deal next Friday, Aug. 1.
And while some Councilmembers have enthusiastically supported the deal, including Wendell Felder (Ward 7), Brooke Pinto (Ward 2) and At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, others aren’t as supportive.
“What’s now being fast-tracked for a vote does not reflect that progress. It doesn’t reflect our values, and it doesn’t prioritize residents. This deal is being sold to the public like it’s already done. But the costs are real, and they fall on D.C. residents,” said At-Large Councilmember Robert White in a statement.
White said he’d like to see anti-displacement protections and an end to the stadium seating tax exemption, among other things.
“We are being asked to use public land and public dollars to fund our own displacement. That’s the simple truth,” said White. “A stadium of this scale will drive up property taxes in surrounding neighborhoods and price out residents. And while a billionaire team owner walks away with millions in tax breaks, longtime residents, especially retirees on fixed incomes, will be stuck with the tab.”
RELATED COVERAGE: ‘Let’s bring the Commanders home’: Bowser, Washington Commanders announce nearly $3 billion RFK Stadium deal
Councilmember Charles Allen also posted on X, “We need a better deal. That’s a huge price to pay with not enough coming back to DC taxpayers & residents. Still time to get right."
Meanwhile, a report by the Office of the Budget Director found that while the stadium would generate more revenue in the short term, a mixed-use development without a stadium would generate more revenue in the long term.
According to the report, mixed-use development with a stadium would generate $2.4 billion in tax revenue by 2060, while a mixed-use development with no stadium would generate $3.4 billion in tax revenue by 2060.
“A key difference is that while a stadium likely generates more tax revenue than an equally sized residential development, the stadium proposal comes with a significant amount of land dedicated to large parking garages, which do not generate sizeable revenues,” stated the report.
Continue reading...