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B26-0634 • 2025

Arena Safety Conformity Emergency Amendment Act of 2026

Arena Safety Conformity Emergency Amendment Act of 2026

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Pinto
Last action
2026-04-17
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material did not provide specific details on the fiscal impact statement requirement, only that it was adopted by the Council.

Arena Safety Rules Update

This act updates safety rules for the Downtown Arena and Southeast Arena by adding them to existing stadium safety laws.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds definitions for 'Downtown Arena' and 'Southeast Arena'.
  • Prohibits unauthorized entry onto playing surfaces in both arenas without permission from their operators or authorized agents.
  • Updates the definition of 'playing field' or 'playing surface' to include areas within these new arenas.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Operators and lessees of the Downtown Arena and Southeast Arena
  • People who want to enter playing surfaces in these arenas

Terms To Know

Downtown Arena
A sports and entertainment arena located at 601 F Street, NW.
Southeast Arena
A sports and entertainment arena located at 1100 Oak Drive, SE.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act is effective for no longer than 90 days as an emergency measure.
  • It does not specify the consequences of violating these rules.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-17 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Act A26-0291 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006059, Expires on Jul 07, 2026

  2. 2026-04-13 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Returned from Mayor

  3. 2026-04-08 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Signed by the Mayor and Enacted with Act Number A26-0291, Expires on Jul 07, 2026

  4. 2026-04-01 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Transmitted to Mayor, Response Due on Apr 15, 2026

  5. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Retained by the Council

  6. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Legislative Meeting

  7. 2026-03-30 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    B26-0634 Introduced by Councilmember Pinto at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Arena Safety Conformity Emergency Amendment Act of 2026

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED ORIGINAL
AN ACT
D.C. ACT 26-291
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,
APRIL 8,2026
‘Toamend,onanemergencybasis,theRobertF.KennedyMemorialStadiumandtheDistrictofColumbia NationalGuard Armory PublicSafetyAct to includethe Downtown Arena and
theSoutheastArenaintheprohibitiononunauthorizedentryontoaplayingsurface,
BEITENACTEDBYTHECOUNCILOFTHEDISTRICTOFCOLUMBIA,Thatthis
actmaybecitedasthe“ArenaSafetyConformityEmergencyAmendmentActof2026”.
Sec.2.TheRobertF.KennedyMemorialStadiumandtheDistrictofColumbiaNationalGuardArmoryPublicSafetyAct,effectiveNovember3,1977(D.C.Law2-37;D.C.OfficialCode§3-341efseq,),isamendedasfollows:
(a)Section3a(D.C.OfficialCode§3-342.01)isamendedasfollows:
(1)A newparagraph(1A)isaddedtoreadasfollows:
(IA)“DowntownArena”meansasportsandentertainmentarenalocatedat601

FStreet,N.W.”.
(2)A newparagraph(3)isaddedtoreadasfollows:“(3)“SoutheastArena”meansasportsandentertainmentarenalocatedat1100OakDrive,S.E.”.
(b)Section4b(D.C.OfficialCode§3-343.02)isamendedasfollows:
(1)Newsubsections(b-2)and(b-3)areaddedtoreadasfollows:“(b-2)UnlessexpresslyauthorizedbytheoperatoroftheDowntownArena,oritsdulyauthorizedagents,nopersonshallatanytimeenterontoanyportionoftheplayingsurfacewithintheDowntownArena.
“(b-3)UnlessexpresslyauthorizedbytheWashingtonConventionandSportsAuthority,thelesseeoroperatoroftheSoutheastArena,ortheirdulyauthorizedagents,nopersonshallatanytimeenterontoanyportionoftheplayingsurfacewithintheSoutheastArena.”.(2)Subsection(c)isamendedtoreadasfollows:
“(c)Forthepurposesofthissection,theterm“playingfield”or“playingsurface”,asapplicable,meanstheareaencompassedbytheseatingfacilitieswithintheRobertF.Kennedy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL
Memorial Stadium,theBaseballStadium,theSoccerStadium,theDowntown Arena,or the
SoutheastArena,as such seatingfacilitiesmay be arrangedfrom timetotime.”.
Sec.3.Fiscalimpactstatement.
‘TheCounciladoptsthefiscalimpactstatementoftheBudgetDirectorasthefiscalimpactstatementrequiredbysection4aoftheGeneralLegislativeProceduresActof1975,approvedOctober16,2006(120Stat.2038;D.C.OfficialCode§1-301.47a).
Sec.4,Effectivedate.
ThisactshalltakeeffectfollowingapprovalbytheMayor(orintheeventofvetobytheMayor,actionbytheCounciltooverridetheveto),andshallremainineffectfornolongerthan90days,asprovidedforemergencyactsoftheCounciloftheDistrictofColumbiainsection412(a)oftheDistrictofColumbiaHomeRuleAct,approvedDecember24,1973(87Stat.788;D.C.OfficialCode§1-204.12(a)).
lg——
Councilof theDistrictof Columbia

APPROVED,
APRIL 8, 2026

DocketNo,826-0634
WASHINGTON,DC,20004
COUNCILOFTHE DISTRICTOF COLUMBIA,

{]ITEMONCONSENTCALENDAR
[X]ACTION FinalReading
(X]VOTEDATE ‘March31,2026
[x1voicevote ‘Approved
RECORDEDVOTEONREQUEST
ABSENT

[]ROLLCALLVOTE-Result

CouncMember [aye|Nay|NV [AB[Rec[CouncilMember_[Aye| Nay|NV’[AB|Ree]CounciMember Nay|NV[AB[Rec
haiemanMendelson]X Frumin x Pinto x
Allen x Henderson x R.White
Bonds x LewisGeorge| x White x
Craword x Nadeau x
Felder x Parker x
X-IndicateVote NV-Present,NotVoting_
CERTIFICATIONRECORD
te“SecretaryfotheCoun Date