Prince George’s council weighs approval of up to $215 million in National Harbor Sphere bonds

The Prince George’s County Council will consider whether to allow the county to issue up to $215 million in bonds to prepare National Harbor for Maryland’s mini Sphere to roll in.

Chair Krystal Oriadha said she and her council colleagues will also weigh concerns from constituents and supporters — including local labor unions — as they consider whether to approve the bonds.

Council members have considered requiring a project labor agreement, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll follow through.

“It could end up looking different, but the importance to me is that it’s very clear that we’re gonna be supporting labor, specifically Prince George’s County residents that are gonna be hired,” Oriadha said in an interview following Tuesday’s meeting.

After its annual August recess, the council returned to Largo on Tuesday to begin a legislative sprint before it will pause again for the November general election and the swearing-in of new council members in December.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy has asked the council to allow the county to issue up to $215 million in bonds, $130 million of which will support construction of the Sphere and related infrastructure improvements.

The state has also committed $13.5 million for the project.

Braveboy wrote in a letter to Oriadha that the higher bonding limit includes funding needed for “reserves, capitalized interest and other costs of using the bonds,” and to refund or cancel a previous series of bonds for development at the National Harbor.

The county executive is an outspoken proponent of the project and has said it will generate $1.3 billion in total annual economic output in the county.

She has also said construction of the site will create nearly 3,400 temporary jobs and support 7,100 jobs once completed.

Oriadha said she’s “excited to learn about what the county executive and their team have been working on, but more excited to hear from the community.”

She said that council members will spend the next few weeks seeking input from county residents about their hopes for and concerns about the project, including the potential for light pollution from the Sphere’s massive LED display and increased traffic in the communities around the National Harbor.

Local unions have pushed for the council to require a project labor agreement, which generally establishes employment terms and conditions for large construction projects and may require contractors to hire through a union hall.

The unions have contended that such an agreement would ensure that the project creates “quality, family-supporting jobs.”

Opponents of the practice, though, say it can increase construction costs and limit competitive bidding on project contracts.

Oriadha on Tuesday stopped short of calling for including an agreement in the Sphere project. But she said the project must include county-based minority businesses, local hiring and labor unions.

“There’s nothing I can support that doesn’t have all three of those stakeholders at the table,” Oriadha said.

Sphere’s local lobbyist, Michael Arrington, passed along a request for comment, but the company didn’t respond in time for publication.

To help defray the project’s estimated $1 billion price tag, Braveboy has pledged $170 million, the bulk of which includes a deal in which the county will take out bonds and repay them with future property tax revenue.

Sphere Entertainment Co. CEO James Dolan, also the chairman and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., has said he’s hoping for the new Sphere to open before 2030.