Mayor Bowser Announces Ward 8 Entertainment & Sports Arena, 9/16/15

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• published: 09 Oct 2015
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Mayor Muriel Bowser; Monumental Sports & Entertainment Founder, Majority Owner and CEO Ted Leonsis; and Events DC President and CEO Greg O’Dell announce plans to build a new state-of-the-art Entertainment and Sports Arena at St. Elizabeths East in Ward 8. This development delivers on the Mayor’s commitment to create pathways to the middle class for District residents across all wards. The $55 million joint venture will become the future practice facility for the Washington Wizards, home court of the Washington Mystics, and a premier entertainment venue in the District. Operated by Events DC, the new complex is projected to produce $90 million in new tax revenues over 20 years. The 118,000-square foot, 5,000-seat facility will also attract more than 380,000 annual new residents and visitors per year to Congress Heights and produce more than 600 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs for both the arena and Phase I infrastructure of St Elizabeths East, with priority given to Ward 8 residents. “Today marks an important day for the District of Columbia and the people of Ward 8,” said Mayor Bowser. “With this new development, we are driving private investment to the St. Elizabeths East campus, boosting the local economy, creating hundreds of jobs, and putting more District residents on their pathways to the middle class. This is a huge win for the District and yet another sign that Washington, DC is a city on the move.” “We are extremely appreciative of the Mayor’s and Event DC’s collaboration and partnership with us,” said Leonsis. “We look forward to working together to build a best-in-class Wizards and Mystics training facility and a fantastic new home venue for Mystics games. The facility not only is important to our teams but also the community – it’s much bigger than basketball.” The new entertainment and sports arena will also generate significant expansion of arts, cultural, entertainment and civic amenities, including hosting over 90 events per year. ”Events DC is proud to partner with Mayor Bowser and Monumental Sports to bring a new multi-use facility to a developing neighborhood in the District,” said Greg O’Dell, president and chief executive officer of Events DC. “This new entertainment and sports arena will aid us in attracting a vast amount of new programing that will not only help transform this community but also drive significant economic benefit for the District.” Funding over the course of the 19-year lease includes a District investment of nearly $23 million, up to $5 million from Monumental towards construction - with an additional $10 million for St. E’s redevelopment and community philanthropic investments - and $27 million by Events DC. Events DC will be responsible for the construction of the new facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2016 with completion in fall of 2018.