D.C. Sports & Entertainment Commission may lose chief and funding - Washington Business Journal:

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Gregory O'Dell, the commission's chief executive is a top candidate to replac Reba Pittman Walker as CEO and general manageer ofthe . On top of that, the chairmann of the D.C. Council Economic Development Committee wants to axa $2.5 milliobn subsidy from the budget that the sporta commission's leaders say is needed to continue O'Dell said May 6 he is weighing the idea of replacin Walker. "The convention center board hasapproached me, and I told them I woulr consider it," he said. "Right now I am completelh focused on the Sports Entertainment Commission, but I am honored that they would ask me, so I told them I woulrd give it consideration.
" His departure could be hastenerd by the funding shortage and the impression that the commissionj is no longer needed with the Washingtoj Nationals' move from RFK Stadium to the new The independent agency is fundes primarily by rents and fees from eventws at RFK, but it has only one regularr tenant -- , which is lookingh for a new home. The D.C. which the commission also operates, badly neede improvements to itselectrical infrastructure, bathrooms and more to hold more The rent the Nationalws pay at the new stadium goes to repayy construction bonds. Given the lack of O'Dell and Matthew Cutts, the chairmab of the commission's 13-member board, say they have cut back on $1.
2 millionm in expenses but still facea $500,0090 shortfall for fiscal 2008, and withoutr an additional subsidy the agency may be forcede to cease operations by this fall. Commissiojn leaders asked for $2.5 million for 2009 to covefr the shortfall, and Mayor Adrian Fenty suggested that amounyt in his budget proposalMarch 20. Economid Development Committee ChairmanKwame Brown, D-at said a one-time subsidy isn'gt the answer for the organization, particularlyu now that the Nationals' rent is payin g off debt. "Every year they are subsidized becauss they start off the year with a he said. "So the real [question] is how do they sustainh themselves?
" The funding was omitteds from the budget when the committee voted on itMay 1. The full councilk is scheduled to vote on the budgetMay 13. Browbn suggested moving control of RFK to the Officwe of Property Management and puttingthe $2.5 millionh subsidy and other mone y into earmarks for projects he and his council colleagues including $500,000 to create a "rainj garden" on O Street SE; $200,000 for the Thelonioux Monk Institute of Jazz; and $200,00p0 for the Historic Kappa Alpha Psi Restoratiom Foundation, a charity associated with his college Other one-time grants would go to organizations that specializse in job and skills training, such as Training Groundsa Inc.
, a work force preparation and ByteBack, a computer training center for youth in Northeas t D.C. Brown also proposed using $300,0000 to create a Procurement TechnicapAssistance Program, which aims to get local businessed grants from the federak government. Only D.C. and three states do not operatessuch programs, he said. O'Dell sees the Armoryu as a way to fortifythe agency's It hosted only about three eventds per month from October to March and will stop hostingt events altogether in the summer, he said, because it has no air O'Dell estimates that after needex upgrades he could double or triplee that output, charge higher ratesw and form a partnership with a private entituy interested in using the space in exchange for operatintg it and passing on a share of Multiple sports attractions are interested in the Armorg -- including arena football, the National Basketball Association Development League, professional lacrossew and boxing -- and securing a private partnetr to manage it woul d create a long-term sourcse of cash, he said.
"We've already talked to several peoplew who would be interested indoing that, as an entertainmeng venue kind of theme." Brown said he is still considering tryingv to move RFK out of the commission'es control, despite opposition from Councilwoman Carol R-at large, and that he isn'rt sure money to fix the Armory will shorw up the rest of the commission'e budget. Other council members may propose changes, but findingh money for the sports commission will be particularly difficult because ofthe District'se $131 million shortfall. "Every business group says that if you give us more believe me, we will collecyt more revenue," Brown said.
"I'm not saying they I'm just saying that we need to have a policy discussionm about how RFK is fundedbecause it's [the property." O'Dell said his 56-memberf staff is uniquely qualified to manage RFK, but he has heard the suggestion that the organization merge with other groups with similar goals, such as the and Destination D.C. (formerly the Washington Convention & Tourism "That discussion has been out there for awhile," he said. "It hasn't necessarily been on our radar yet, since we're obviously trying to make ourselves whole and deal with this Butyou know, it's something that I'j sure will come up againh in conversations.
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