The Prince George’s County Council approved a resolution creating what’s called an Extraordinary Development District at the National Harbor site where the Sphere is going to be built.
The vote was 8-0, and the discussion about the creation of the zone was briefer and far less substantive than discussions surrounding the project that will play out over the coming months.
“It’s just creating the district,” Council Chair Krystal Oriadha said. “It allows for the county executive, park and planning, all of the stakeholders behind the scenes to start working on the framework.”
The creation of the zone will, among other things, allow the county to also create a Tax Increment Financing plan to help finance the project.
“The establishment of the Extraordinary Development District gives us the tools we need to ensure that the financing package that we are proposing moves forward,” County Executive Aisha Braveboy said. “I think today’s unanimous vote shows that we’re all aligned in bringing this very important project to the county.”
Several on the council were clear, however, that certain terms must be met in order for the project to win final approval. While that question wasn’t on the table Monday, leaders from several unions were on hand to address the council at the start of the meeting. They all called on the council to condition approval of the Sphere with a project labor agreement.
“The Prince George’s County Sphere project should include a project labor agreement to ensure this historic development delivers lasting economic benefits to the residents of Prince George’s County,” said Roxy Mejia with the Painters and Allied Trades Union.
“It’s time for the Sphere development team to begin negotiating labor agreements with us,” said Victoria Leonard of the Baltimore-D. C. Metro Building Trades Council. “These labor agreements are essential to ensure that jobs created by this project are quality, family-supporting jobs for county residents.”
Sam Stern, of UNITE HERE Local 25, told the council that union representatives have not yet been able to sit down with corporate officials behind the Sphere to negotiate labor agreements.
When it came time for the council to discuss the measure, members were sympathetic to those causes.
“I’m just so honored that this project is coming to District 8,” said Ed Burroughs, who represents the National Harbor area on the council.
He added he nearly proposed an amendment requiring a project labor agreement before this vote.
“I think it’s so important when we have these large projects that come into the county that we recruit, hire and train Prince George’s County residents on these jobs,” he said after the vote.
“It’s really important to us to have the PLA for accountability,” Oriadha said after the vote. “For me, that’s what I’m looking for.”
During the vote, council members Wanika Fisher and Tom Dernoga also expressed support for the idea, with Dernoga saying he’ll vote no on anything else related to the project unless he’s certain “labor is satisfied” with their role in the project.
Representatives from the entertainment venue said they feel it’s too early in the process to talk about project labor agreements, according to a source involved in talks between the Sphere and the county. The company’s previous projects, including the Sphere in Las Vegas, have employed union workers. Representatives said they plan to work with unions on this project, too.
The company would be reluctant to enter into a project labor agreement if it drove up costs by 10% or more, according to the source.
Braveboy also wasn’t willing to say it’s PLA or bust.
“It’s important to have labor at the table,” she said. “I’ve always put labor at the table. I think it’s also important to have our minority business community at the table as well and the community that is going to be impacted. So everyone and everyone’s issues and concerns and their support too for what they want to advocate for should be a part of the conversation, and it will be at the appropriate time.”
Asked directly if she would be OK if the project didn’t have a project labor agreement, Braveboy said what was important was a community benefits agreement.
“Those individuals who own businesses here should have an opportunity to benefit,” she said, adding that those who live in Prince George’s County should have the opportunity to work in the county. “There should be some concessions given to the impact that it will have to the residents who live closest to National Harbor. It’s what we did when we established National Harbor to begin with.”
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