Prince George’s County lawmakers take next step in bringing Sphere venue to National Harbor
by Matt Delaney · The Washington TimesThe Prince George’s County Council approved a financing plan for the proposed Sphere entertainment venue in National Harbor, giving the ambitious project a stronger likelihood of coming to Maryland.
The 8-0 vote lets the county create its own special tax district around the 6,000-seat sphere, a smaller version of the popular Las Vegas venue, if it were to come to Oxon Hill.
Essentially, the county can now move forward with its funding strategy if local lawmakers back the development that would go right alongside the MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino.
“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 told a press gaggle after Monday’s meeting in Largo’s Wayne K. Curry Administration Building. “I think today’s unanimous vote shows that we’re all aligned in bringing this very important project to the county.”
It remains an open question how Prince George’s County Council members will vote on the project as discussions progress, in part because the role of organized labor remains unclear.
Representatives from several labor unions said they haven’t heard from any of the Sphere’s negotiators.
Roxy Mejia, the political director of the International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 51, urged the council to establish a labor agreement with Sphere officials to ensure Prince George’s workers will benefit from the venue’s construction and operations.
District 1 Council member Tom Dernoga and District 2 Council member Wanika Fisher stressed at the meeting that organized labor should play a part in the Sphere project.
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County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha supported her colleagues’ stances when speaking to the media after the meeting, saying Prince George’s residents should benefit from all types of jobs associated with the venue.
Sphere representatives said 2,500 jobs will be needed to build the structure, plus 4,750 jobs to open and run the unique venue that would feature wraparound displays on the outside and panoramic screens on the inside.
Ms. Braveboy said labor organizations and minority-owned businesses will factor into the project, but added it was most important for the Sphere to enrich the business and residential communities around National Harbor above all else.
Maryland’s version of the Sphere, which would be a miniature version of the 18,000-seat venue that has become a fixture of the Las Vegas cityscape, does provide a boost for Prince George’s that had watched as big-name clients announced plans to move out of the area in recent years.
“Watching Six Flags leave and the Commanders leave, those are major staples that have been here pretty much all my life,” District 8 Council member Edward Burroughs III said during the meeting. “To see this project will bring in triple those projects is a major historical accomplishment.”
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Officials have not discussed a possible completion date for the Sphere. When the venue was first revealed in January, Maryland authorities said it would use at least $200 million in state, local and private funds.
County leaders said Monday’s vote establishing the special tax district means tax revenue brought in to the district could be set aside to help fund the project if it’s given final approval.
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Matt Delaney
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