A Revamped Arena?

The District must consider its own interests in deciding whether to pay to renovate Verizon Center.

WITH SOME still smarting over the District's largess in building a stadium for major league baseball, Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin has emerged to ask the city to give him $50 million to spiff up Verizon Center. The quick rejoinder, from some, is to question why a city with so many unmet needs should use its money to help a man who has millions. That's a valid question, but any debate over the proposal must also weigh Mr. Pollin's contributions to the city and the benefits of an arena upgrade.

Talks are very preliminary but, according to The Post's Nikita Stewart and Thomas Heath, city officials are discussing a plan that would boost the sales tax on tickets to finance renovations of the 20,674-seat facility. Built a decade ago, the arena is still a quality site, but it's in need of upgrades so that it can compete to host special sporting and entertainment events. The strongest argument for the plan is the unquestioned stake the city has in the success of the arena and its vital role in enlivening downtown. Built with Mr. Pollin's money on land provided by the city, the center will revert to the city in 30 years. Too often, municipalities shortsightedly let facilities slide into disrepair, a lesson typified by the sad state of RFK Stadium.

Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who heads the council's finance committee, is wisely focusing on having the users of the arena, many from Maryland and Virginia, pick up the tab. The city's main involvement would be the use of its favorable bond rating to arrange and guarantee long-term financing. That the tax increase would bring the levy on arena tickets ($4.25 more on a $100 ticket) in line with that on baseball tickets seems reasonable. No doubt Mr. Pollin is mindful of all that the city is doing for baseball, compared with all that he has done for the city. At a time when other cities were using public funds to lure pro sports, Mr. Pollin made a $220 million personal investment in the District, transforming a wasteland into a vibrant urban center.

There are questions yet to be answered. Why couldn't Mr. Pollin simply increase ticket prices to pay for the improvements? Much of the money would go toward the upgrade of luxury boxes, but is that market threatened by the tightening of congressional ethics legislation? It's appropriate that Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi is involved in the negotiations, and it will be important to hear from him about any hidden costs or risks to the city. Likewise, it will be interesting to hear what Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has to say, considering that he was critical of the baseball deal and that the city faces an approach from pro soccer.

Those favoring Mr. Pollin's request would be well advised not to oversell any potential benefits to the city and to be transparent about their reasons. For his part, Mr. Pollin needs to be forthcoming about why this is the best option and, if need be, share financial information about his company. Ultimately, the outcome must rest on what serves the District. With that, we think that Mr. Pollin, who has worked for decades with those interests in mind, would agree.