$215 Million for a Sphere?!
Prince George’s County is poised to authorize up to $215 million in special obligation bonds tied to bringing a 6,000-seat Sphere to National Harbor.
Seriously?
The proposed Sphere would undoubtedly be impressive. The original Las Vegas venue is a giant 17,600-seat glowing orb wrapped in LED screens, with immersive video, sound and special effects inside. A smaller version at National Harbor would attract visitors, attention and plenty of Instagram posts.
What it would not do is solve one of Prince George’s County’s most pressing economic development problems.
National Harbor already works—thanks, in part, to roughly a quarter-billion dollars in prior public financing. Years of public and private investment have created a successful regional destination with hotels, restaurants, retail, convention business, MGM National Harbor, and millions of visitors. Sphere Entertainment wants to be there because that place has already been built.
Meanwhile, Prince George’s County’s supposed “signature economic development priority,” the Central Avenue–Blue/Silver Line Corridor, is still waiting for the County’s love and largess.
In 2021, the County committed to a long-term strategy built around four Metro stations stretching from Capitol Heights to Largo. Maryland eventually authorized hundreds of millions of dollars for facilities along the corridor. The idea was exactly right: concentrate public investment around transit, create destinations, strengthen station areas and give private development something to build on.
Then the political winds changed, and a new County Executive assumed the helm and immediately announced a new priority. (Or, actually, several priorities—whichever white whale happens to breach the surface.)
None of the $400+ million in authorized Maryland Stadium Authority bonds have been issued. The County’s support for the original Blue Line Corridor strategy has faded. A signature focus that was supposed to transform a corridor over many years barely survived four.
And now, the County and State are moving at breakneck speed to bring a bedazzled glowing disco ball to National Harbor that seats fewer than a third as many people as Northwest Stadium.
Make it make sense.
Our new policy brief, Pizzazz or Priorities?, argues for a different approach. Before committing that amount of public money, the County should think carefully about what it is trying to accomplish first—and only then use its substantial political and fiscal capital to advance those priorities.
Sometimes prioritization means doing decidedly unglamorous work: better bus service, safer crossings, connected streets, useful public spaces and infrastructure that makes development possible. That work is why government exists and how the County ensures its residents thrive in fundamentally livable communities. Even if the work doesn’t generate headlines, it matters.
But priorities don’t always have to be boring. If the County is really prepared to marshal extraordinary public resources for a Sphere, it really should put it along the Blue Line Corridor—perhaps at Morgan Boulevard Metro.
Imagine what directing $215 million in public capital to Morgan Boulevard Metro could accomplish. WMATA controls 37 acres around the station. The surrounding area has room for housing, hotels, restaurants, retail, and public space that does not exist today. Instead of being just the next new thing at National Harbor, the Sphere could be the signature entertainment venue that anchors an entirely new Metro-served destination.
Same pizzazz. Very different priorities.
Prince George’s County does not have to stop thinking big. It just needs to start thinking big on purpose and in the right places.
Read GCHIC’s new policy brief, Pizzazz or Priorities? Public Investment and the Blue/Silver Line Corridor in Prince George’s County, to learn more:
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