WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — After weeks of negotiating with the Washington Commanders and pressure from Mayor Muriel Bowser and Congressional leaders, the D.C. Council came to an agreement on its first vote on the deal.
In a 9-3 decision, the Council voted to advance the modified version of the deal Bowser struck with the Commanders earlier this year.
This sets the stage for the Commanders to return to the District in 2030.
Under the deal announced last 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. The $4 billion deal includes a 65,000-seat roofed stadium, housing, retail, parking garages, green space and park space.
Despite general excitement over the team’s return to Washington, many were skeptical of the deal in the days before the vote. Issues of labor union agreements, parking and traffic concerns, and overall funding priorities left some worried about the deal.
Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Zachary Parker, for example, said they would not support the deal without broader union labor agreements.
“Project labor and labor peace agreements that cover the stadium and hotels within the commercial development are a win-win for the District and the Commanders … Any deal before the council must have project labor and labor peace agreement as an essential part of the terms we sign onto,” the two said in a joint statement on Thursday.
They were able to reach an agreement with the team just hours ahead of the vote on Friday, securing what they called a “major win” for workers and Washingtonians.
The agreement includes a commitment to employ a project labor agreement and a labor peace agreement on the stadium and hotels in the mixed-use development.
Included also was a requirement that the mixed-use development agreements must include 51% District worker participation, ensuring “that everyday Washingtonians will benefit from good jobs with livable wages, real protections, and sufficient benefits,” Lewis George and Parker said in a joint statement on Friday.
Labor union leaders announced joint support following the revisions. On Friday, leaders of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades, 32BJ SEIU and UNITE HERE Local 25 and Local 23 issued a statement.
A release from the unions stated they were pleased with the changes and were especially thankful to the councilmembers who advocated for them, namely George and Parker.
The Committee of the Whole began shortly before 1:30 p.m. The meeting began with a series of amendments proposed by Councilmember Robert White. Amendments one and two proposed taxing personal seat licenses, followed by laying out a revenue-sharing plan, respectively. Both amendments failed.
Councilmember Matthew Frumin, who represents Ward 3, opposed the revenue-sharing amendment and preemptively informed the council that he planned to vote no on the deal as a whole.
A third amendment also failed that would’ve put in place stronger punishments if the team didn’t get development done on time. It would’ve required the team to pay $2 million every year the development went beyond 2038. The city would’ve been able to take the land back if the entire mixed-use development hadn’t been completed by 2042.
In the hours ahead of the vote, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he was optimistic about the deal as a whole, despite the pressure put on him and his fellow Councilmembers by local and federal leaders.
“The Washington Commanders are the Washington Commanders, not the Landover Commanders. There’s just excitement about that … these are intangible benefits,” he said in an interview on Friday morning.