As the D.C. Council works to finalize the Bowser administration’s $515 million commitment to Capital One Arena’s redevelopment, a debate continues to rage on about the degree to which D.C.-based contractors and certified business enterprises (CBEs) will be involved in the project.
Marcus Jackson and others who testified before the D.C. Council’s Committee of the Whole expressed skepticism that a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), like what Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) and Clark Construction are currently negotiating, will ensure that the project meets the District’s minimum requirements for first-source hiring and CBE contracting.
“PLAs let unions pick who gets work and who doesn’t. It’s a self-defeating economic policy,” said Jackson, director of government affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors of Metro Washington, during the Nov. 14 public hearing for the bill titled the Downtown Arena Revitalization Act of 2024.
If passed, the Downtown Arena Revitalization Act will mandate a minimum of 40% CBE participation on the project with the goal of reaching 50%.
The arena revitalization bill also includes a stipulation that 51% of contractors are first-source District hires. MSE recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Baltimore DC Building and Construction Trades Council to facilitate CBE and District resident inclusion.
