Mayor Bowser Talks RFK Stadium Bill | Sports Junkies - video Dailymotion

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Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser joins The Sports Junkies to give an update on the latest surrounding the RFK Stadium Bill.

Transcript

00:00All right, I think we're waiting for Mayor Bowser.

00:03I see her PR person's on the phone.

00:06Is that right?

00:07Is that they're trying to track her down?

00:09Just a few more seconds.

00:10Yeah.

00:11He's around here.

00:12All right.

00:13So I'm actually shocked by this.

00:14I thought this was just sort of for formality.

00:15Obviously, if they were ever going to be able to build on the RFK site, this was a formality

00:19they would have to overcome.

00:22But I've always been under sort of the idea that you're still going to have to outbid.

00:28But Rick comes on here and kind of shatters my notion of it.

00:32And he's been my leader on this because he said for years he thought they were just going

00:35to build it right next to the current stadium and it would probably stay in Maryland.

00:41But now he's saying like Maryland's got no money.

00:46They're not going to have to maybe pony up anywhere near what we thought they might.

00:51Can D.C. just keep giving these owners money?

00:55I mean, give Ted a bunch of money to keep the Caps and the Wizards here in D.C.?

00:59I think Rick thinks they're not going to have to because Virginia is out of the equation,

01:05it seems like.

01:06Yeah, we haven't heard of Virginia.

01:07Maryland doesn't.

01:08According to Rick, Maryland's like underwater.

01:11So maybe they're not going to have to match some billion dollar offer.

01:15Maybe it's the only spot that makes sense financially.

01:17And you know, the good thing is, you know, it tugs on everyone's heartstrings.

01:22Everybody would love.

01:23I think the Manders fans want it to go back to that site.

01:27Now I'll tell you, I drive by that site a lot and I mean, it is a dilapidated dump.

01:32Of course.

01:33They got to clean that all up.

01:34But just think about if they did decide to build it there, how awesome it would look

01:39with a brand new stadium.

01:41People are suggesting it could be like a new Navy Yard.

01:45Now, it's pretty spectacular what they've done around here.

01:48Now I still think around here it's crazy.

01:49There's wildness that goes on around here.

01:51There's some dicey areas still, yeah.

01:53But just from aesthetics, it looks amazing.

01:56Yeah.

01:57Well also, I was thinking a lot about this when I was at the Army-Navy game because like

02:02logistically it's just kind of a nightmare because you have like lines for the bathroom

02:07that are intersecting with lines at concession with people that are trying to get to their

02:12seats.

02:13You're just saying the design of the stadium is poor?

02:15The design of the stadium is outdated.

02:18There needs to be more cashless options all around the stadium.

02:24It's just it needs an update.

02:28It needs a facelift, especially with the infrastructure inside.

02:31All right.

02:32Is the mayor on?

02:33All right.

02:34There we go.

02:35We finally got her.

02:36We got Maria Bowser.

02:37Supposed to have her a couple of weeks ago, but now there's just too much going on.

02:39Now she finds time for us.

02:41Hey, Mayor Bowser.

02:42Yes, yes, yes.

02:43How are you?

02:44How are you?

02:45Happy holidays to you.

02:48And so just kind of break this down for us because now there's a provision to the spending

02:53bill.

02:54It's way over my head.

02:55But there's a provision in the spending bill that was going to be voted on later this week

03:00that would transfer control of the land from the federal government to the D.C. government.

03:06So talk about how important this is.

03:08It's huge.

03:09So when I've been on a talk to you before, I emphasize we've got to get control of the

03:14land.

03:15We've got to get control of the land.

03:16We've had a lease for many years.

03:18We have 14 years left on the lease and it's restricted.

03:22It can only be used for sports or recreational uses.

03:26This transfer gives us complete control over the land to develop in the way that serves

03:33district residents and creates connections to the park.

03:37Thirty percent of the land will be used for a park.

03:41So this just allows D.C. to control our destiny as it relates to 177 acres that's now blighted

03:49in the nation's capital.

03:51And it's going to be voted on later this week, correct?

03:53That's what the story says.

03:54Yes.

03:55Okay.

03:56It's a must-pass bill.

03:57This is actually a bill that has, you know, many, many hundreds of millions of dollars

04:03of spending.

04:04It keeps the government open.

04:06It's a continuing resolution and very few attachments, but our RFK legislation is one

04:13of them.

04:14All right.

04:15Explain to me why this is such a game changer for you because I actually thought this was

04:18just a formality.

04:21But then I've been, and I, because I always just figured, okay, they're going to, to do

04:23this, they're going to have to obviously get that provision so that they have, you know,

04:27right to the property or whatever.

04:28But at the end of the day, you're still going to have to come up with a bunch of dough that

04:32you're not going to either have or want to come up with.

04:35So why is that not still the case?

04:38Well, when you say dough, you mean a deal with the team?

04:43I mean money.

04:44Yeah.

04:45Money to attract them because you're going to have competitive offers from Maryland,

04:48presumably.

04:49There, there's no site that can compete with our site.

04:53It's just that simple.

04:54Financially?

04:55We have the best site in the region.

04:56We have the best site in the region, period.

05:00And when you think about the connections, the transportation connections, the connection

05:05with the river, the views, the support from the fan base, we have the best site.

05:11And it's really just that simple.

05:13And so when we are able to look at how we do the ancillary development around what might

05:21be a new stadium, we know we get housing, we get entertainment district, we get a park,

05:28and we get more jobs for DC residents and for the entire region.

05:32So it is a, it's going to be a beautiful vision that we look forward to sharing with

05:39the community.

05:40All right.

05:41So if it's voted on later this week and it passes, then what exactly is the next step?

05:47The next steps are we will proceed with demolishing the current site.

05:53We will proceed with developing our vision, having discussions with the team, community,

06:00and our stakeholders.

06:02And we will aim to have an agreement with the team.

06:09So this is a big deal.

06:10What is it?

06:11It's a very big deal.

06:12What is the timeframe where you feel like you could get a commitment from the team?

06:18From Josh Harris.

06:19Well, I always think we should do things yesterday.

06:22I think they have a very significant time crunch.

06:26They have a lease in.

06:28Josh Harris has stated publicly he'd like to be in the stadium by 2030.

06:33And in order for all of those things to happen, I think that we have to have an agreement

06:37this year.

06:38Wow.

06:39This year.

06:40So you're saying in 2025, you're not saying 2024.

06:432025.

06:442025.

06:45Yeah.

06:46You've been very busy.

06:47You've got a lot of stuff going on with these sports teams.

06:48We talked to you about-

06:49We do.

06:50You know what happened yesterday?

06:51We got our final vote on my monumental sports and entertainment legislation.

06:58As soon as I get the bill from the council, I'll be signing it.

07:02They'll be going to close and getting to work on transforming our Cat One Arena.

07:08It's going to be an amazing downtown development.

07:11And we've already seen kind of the bounce back in the downtown.

07:15And we're really proud that Monumental Sports is going to be our partner until at least

07:192050.

07:20I mean, you're revitalizing that, and then you possibly can get the commanders at RFK,

07:26at the RFK site.

07:28I mean, that's huge.

07:29Yeah.

07:30It was a big sports day.

07:31The biggest.

07:32A big turnaround from last year this time.

07:35Right.

07:36But it's quite a comeback if you're able to actually pull it off.

07:39Do you envision it being like, because others have suggested, like another Navy Yard in

07:44that area?

07:45Do you have the acreage and the ability to do that?

07:49It's larger than that.

07:51And so think about some of the large federal parcels like the Wharf, Navy Yard, Walter

07:56Reed, St. Elizabeth's.

07:59It's larger than that.

08:00So the answer is yes.

08:01If you're thinking about, are we going to have entertainment, restaurants?

08:07We will have more sports uses.

08:08We already have ball fields there.

08:11We will have a DC Parks and Rec indoor sportsplex there.

08:17And we will have a park that connects to the Anacostia River.

08:21So like the Wharf, enliven the Potomac River and really underutilize waterfront.

08:29That's what we know that a development at RFK can do in the Anacostia River.

08:34All right.

08:35Well, thanks for joining us.

08:36Great job and good luck on everything else.

08:39And we will pull it off.

08:42You sound very confident.

08:43I'm not going to bet against you at this point.

08:45Yep.

08:46Thank you very much.

08:47Don't bet against me.

08:49Thanks.

08:50Bye bye.

Mayor Bowser Talks RFK Stadium Bill | Sports Junkies

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