Sports Arena

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided updated information on the District of Columbia's proposed new sports arena, focusing on the: (1) predevelopment project costs; (2) issuance of bonds to finance the predevelopment costs; and (3) revenues from the arena tax. GAO noted that: (1) the District's estimated predevelopment costs have increased by about $11.6 million since 1995, but total costs remain stable at about $55 million, since the Department of Transportation awarded the District about $12.7 million for Metrorail construction; (2) the District sold about $60 million of tax-exempt bonds in January 1996 to finance the predevelopment cost of the arena; and (3) as of December 18, 1995, the District has collected about $9.2 million from the arena tax, based on about 26,000 returns filed.