The Sphere Is Moving Forward...But We Said What We Said
On October 5, the Prince George’s County Council unanimously moved the Sphere financing package forward, putting the project on track for a final vote later this month. County officials are taking a victory lap.
County Executive Aisha Braveboy is being hailed as the dealmaker who got it done. The Banner called it her “signature win,” with allies already talking about what it
could mean for landing the County’s next big project.
Okay, sure. But we said what we said.
We all want Prince George’s County to succeed. We want investment, jobs, amenities, a stronger tax base, and big ideas. But success cannot be measured by how many white whales County government can chase down.
GCHIC still believes this is a bad deal for Prince George’s County and a case study in misplaced priorities. The Blue Line Corridor — once sold as the County’s signature place-based economic development strategy — is still waiting for sustained attention and follow-through. Inner-Beltway communities are still waiting for the kind of transformative public investment that always seems easier to find somewhere else. Residents are still waiting at uncovered bus stops for “resource-constrained” local bus service.
None of that becomes less true because the Sphere deal moved forward.
The Sphere may be flashy. It may become a popular attraction. If it gets built, we hope it succeeds — because once public dollars are committed, all of us have a stake in the outcome. But that does not make the underlying public investment choice a wise one.
Facts are facts. Truth is truth. This is pizzazz over priorities, and Prince George’s County keeps getting stuck here: chasing the next marquee project while basic infrastructure and established communities are pushed further back in the line.
At GCHIC, we are going to keep our eyes on the prize and on the real priorities. We will keep asking where public dollars go, who benefits, which places get sustained attention, and which communities are expected to keep waiting. We hope you will keep asking those questions too.
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