D.C. United Community Benefits Deal Finalized

Advocates for Southwest, Navy Yard and Near Southeast have a final agreement with D.C. United on how the team will work to benefit the community.

A day after D.C. Council gave final approval for the stadium at Buzzard Point, the team and the local nonprofit the Near Southeast/Southwest Community Benefits Coordinating Council announced this morning (Thursday) that a community benefits agreement is complete.

The team will continue to teach soccer at Amidon-Bowen Elementary, give D.C. United soccer camp scholarships to local youth and work on identifying top local players, the announcement said.

Felicia Couts, CBCC coordinator, praised the deal.

“CBCC is pleased about this agreement and [the] resulting partnership with D.C. United for the residents of ANC 6D,” she said in a statement. “This [agreement] is an example of community benefits done the right way, with a focus on the needs of our community, and an enforcement component to ensure its provisions are carried out over the long term.”

D.C. United and the CBCC also agreed on the creation of meeting rooms in the stadium for community use, participation in a summer jobs program and the creation of opportunities for small businesses and nonprofits.

The benefits will be available for the next 30 years to people who live in the neighborhoods covered by ANC 6D as of its 2013 boundaries, Couts said at a community meeting earlier this month.

The two parties will meet regularly to ensure the agreement is being enacted, the announcement said.

“D.C. United has been steadfastly committed to the District since its inception, and this agreement builds on that legacy,” D.C. United Managing General Partner Jason Levien said in the statement. “Both the team and the Southwest neighborhood are poised to flourish with this long-term agreement in place.”

The team and the CBCC did not immediately respond to requests for additional information on the terms of the deal.

Photo via D.C. United