D.C. Council gives final approval to soccer stadium deal
By Jonathan O'Connell and Mike DeBonis
Washington Post
Dec. 17, 2014
"The D.C. Council unanimously passed legislation Wednesday to acquire the land needed for a 20,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium on Buzzard Point, at an expected cost of $150 million plus $43 million in forgone tax revenue.
With the vote, D.C. United has a stadium deal that will get the team out of RFK Stadium in 2017, and Mayor Vincent C. Gray, with about two weeks left in office, has a landmark economic development win.
After months of hearings and negotiations, the final vote was matter-of-fact, with the council’s 12 members approving the deal unanimously. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), in his last meeting as a council member, raised concerns about how the borrowing to afford the stadium would affect future spending priorities, such as two new middle schools, Metro expansion and major developments envisioned for the former Walter Reed Army hospital and the former St. Elizabeths hospital in Southeast Washington..."
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