Many people still remember what Navy Yard looked like before the Nationals baseball team and stadium came to D.C. in 2008 and completely changed the Southeast neighborhood’s landscape. Even though that was less than 20 years ago, in terms of a stadium, it is slightly older, and is starting to need repairs.
The D.C. Council held a public hearing this week on the proposed a new fund to help with those repairs and keep the stadium in the District.
The city recently agreed to spend about $20 million on a new scoreboard and stadium lighting, however, the facility is said to need millions of dollars to finish necessary upgrades through the end of the team’s lease in 2038.
Gregory McCarthy, the senior vice president for community and government engagement for the Nationals, said during the recent public hearing that the stadium would need $350 million in upgrades over the next 14 years.
After what happened at Capital One Arena, with the Wizards and Capitals potentially moving their stadium to Alexandria, Virginia, the D.C. Council said it wants to ensure its baseball team never leaves the city.
The D.C. Council’s proposed Ballpark Maintenance Fund would come from taxes generated inside the stadium. The legislation would help fund maintenance for Nationals Park using sales tax collected at the ballpark and rent paid from the lease.
Council member Charles Allen said at the Tuesday hearing, “We have not been able to maintain what is a great ballpark and a great experience.” Adding, “It’s not too far gone. I still think there’s an opportunity.”
Councilman Allen said he also does not want D.C. to find itself in a situation similar to when the Braves left the city of Atlanta in 2017.
“I think this legislation lays out a pathway to be able to make sure we’re making the types of investments the ballpark needs because we do not want to find ourselves in the position of Atlanta or anywhere else where the ballpark itself now has gotten to the place of it’s too expensive to do that maintenance work and to get it back in a state of good repair,” said Allen.
According to the proposed bill, the reserved money in the ballpark’s maintenance fund would specifically pay “for the District’s obligations under the ballpark lease for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of the ballpark.”
Events DC, the District’s convention and sports authority which maintains the ballpark, will still have to use its funds and excess reserves to pay for extra ballpark costs before the District steps in to pay for upgrades.
McCarthy added on Tuesday, “The sports and entertainment industries are absolutely vital to the city’s economic future. Your bill will provide the city with a reliable and steady stream of revenue to maintain this ballpark.”
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