The Prince George’s County Council gave final approval Tuesday to a deal committing the county to financing up to $215 million to help bring the proposed $1.4 billion Sphere entertainment venue to National Harbor.
The 8-0 council vote authorizes up to $215 million in special obligation bonds to help build the iconic 6,000-seat venue and the surrounding complex. The Sphere Entertainment Co. would gradually repay those bonds to the county.
The vote, on the final day of the council’s legislative session, was rather anticlimactic, with the real drama coming behind the scenes during the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s meeting, as lawmakers fought with county and state leaders over labor guarantees with the project. The final deal includes labor agreements, but not as strong as some had hoped.
County Executive Aisha Braveboy had a news conference immediately after the vote to celebrate passage of the package.
“Today, Prince George’s County enters the global stage and redefines itself as a destination for investment, entertainment, technology and innovation,” Braveboy said.
“This project represents a $1.3 billion economic impact to Prince George’s County and a $1.5 billion impact to the state of Maryland,” she said. “This project is projected to generate $63 million annually in just property tax and sales and amusement tax alone.”
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It also provides a boost to a county that has been stung in recent years by the Washington Commanders’ plans to leave Largo and move back to Washington, D.C., and by the closure of the Six Flags amusement park. Braveboy said the new entertainment venue will pay off more than those entities ever did.
“The decision to go after Sphere — to work to bring it to Prince George’s County — will more than triple in tax revenue what we are losing with the Commanders leaving in a few years and the closure of Six Flags,” Braveboy said.
More than that, she said it will help the reputation of a county not known for being business friendly, though it took Braveboy and the governor’s office to push the council to get to Tuesday’s “yes” vote.
In the early going, a majority of the council was determined to require a Project Labor Agreement ensuring union labor as a condition for approval — a red line that the owners of Sphere would not cross. It nearly killed the deal.
In the end, there are agreements between Sphere and labor groups, though they’re not as strong as some on the council initially hoped for. Earlier this month, the council approved a labor peace agreement, which allows union groups to organize workers at the Sphere once it opens but leaves out protections for construction workers.
A community benefits fund has also been created.
“I absolutely worked with the council to ensure that they understood how important it was that we send a message to our business community and to our residents that we understand the importance of improving our commercial tax base and creating an environment where … good investment is welcomed, so that we can have a higher quality of development here in the county,” Braveboy said.
The Maryland venue will be the second massive glowing orb operated by the Sphere Entertainment Co., which is behind the original entertainment arena in Las Vegas, which is taller and has three times the seating capacity as the one planned for National Harbor.
“Far too long, we have focused our attention on our residential tax base, which has put a burden on our property owners, and the only way to begin to move away from that is to have a strong commercial tax base,” Braveboy said.
“It also sends a message to the rest of the investment world that Prince George’s County is a place where world-class investment and high-quality development can happen,” she said. “So we look forward to this setting the tone for future development as we look to develop out Six Flags, as we continue to work with Konterra on that development, and other areas of the county which will be developed.”
Under terms of the deal, the county will build a $40 million parking garage and offer up $130 million financing for bonds, which will then be paid back through tax revenues generated by the facility once it’s built. The state also kicked in more than $13 million.
Next up is the scheduling of a ground breaking ceremony for the $1.4 billion Sphere. A county spokesman only said that he hoped it would happen soon. When the deal was announced, the hope was that the venue would be open for shows in early 2030.
– As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from John Domen. WTOP reporters Jessica Kronzer and Kyle Cooper contributed to this report. Click here for the WTOP News website.
