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D.C.

D.C. Council clears funds for Nationals Park, Capital One Arena facelifts

The council passed legislation to create a stream of revenue for upgrades and fixes at Nationals Park, and advanced a package of $515 million for a Capital One Arena renovation.

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Fans arrive to watch the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals play at Nationals Park in June 2023. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
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D.C.’s pro sports stadiums got the limelight Tuesday as the D.C. Council unanimously advanced legislation that will allow for facelifts at Nationals Park and Capital One Arena, while making sure the teams that play there remain in the city for the next quarter-century.

Owners of the District’s pro sports teams, including the Wizards, Capitals and the Nationals, have spent the past several years jockeying for upgrades to their stadiums — or, for the Commanders, the possibility of a new stadium at the defunct RFK site — with District-backed funds. Now, action to make all that possible is escalating in the D.C. Council, and in Congress, as the year winds to a close.