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B26-0651 • 2025

Arena Safety Conformity Amendment Act of 2026

Arena Safety Conformity Amendment Act of 2026

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Pinto
Last action
2026-04-21
Official status
Under Council Review
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates the bill is under Council Review; it has not yet been passed or enacted into law.

Arena Safety Conformity Amendment Act of 2026

This bill adds the Downtown Arena and Southeast Arena to a District law that bans people from walking onto playing surfaces without permission.

What This Bill Does

  • Adds definitions for the Downtown Arena at 601 F St. N.W. and the Southeast Arena at 1100 Oak Dr. S.E. to an existing safety law.
  • Prohibits unauthorized entry onto any portion of the playing surface within the Downtown Arena unless allowed by its operator or authorized agents.
  • Prohibits unauthorized entry onto any portion of the playing surface within the Southeast Arena unless allowed by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, the lessee, the operator, or their authorized agents.
  • Updates the legal definition of 'playing field' or 'playing surface' to include these two new arenas alongside existing stadiums.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who visit the Downtown Arena located at 601 F St. N.W.
  • People who visit the Southeast Arena located at 1100 Oak Dr. S.E.
  • The operators, lessees, and authorized agents of these two arenas.

Terms To Know

Downtown Arena
A sports and entertainment arena located at 601 F St. N.W.
Southeast Arena
A sports and entertainment arena located at 1100 Oak Dr. S.E.
Playing surface
The area encompassed by the seating facilities within a stadium or arena, as arranged from time to time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill is currently under review by the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
  • The law will not take effect until approved by the Mayor (or if vetoed, overridden by the Council) and after a 30-day congressional review period.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-21 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety

  2. 2026-04-10 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0651 Published in the District of Columbia Register

  3. 2026-03-30 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    B26-0651 Introduced by Councilmember Pinto at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Arena Safety Conformity Amendment Act of 2026

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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________________________ Councilmember Brooke Pinto A BILL _________________________ IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA _________________________ To amend the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the District of Columbia National 1 Guard Armory Public Safety Act of 1977, to include the Downtown Arena and the 2 Southeast Arena in prohibition on unauthorized entry onto a playing surface. 3 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 5 act may be cited as the "Arena Safety Conformity Amendment Act of 2026”. 6 Sec. 2. The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the District of Columbia National 7 Guard Armory Public Safety Act of 1977, effective November 11, 1977, (D.C. Law 2-37; D.C. 8 Official Code § 3-341 et seq.), is amended as follows: 9 (a) Section 3a (D.C. Official Code § 3-342.01) is amended as follows: 10 (1) A new paragraph (1A) is added to read as follows: 11 “(1A) “Downtown Arena” means a sports and entertainment arena located at 601 12 F St. N.W.”. 13 (2) A new paragraph (3) is added to read as follows: 14 “(3) “Southeast Arena” means a sports and entertainment arena located at 1100 15 Oak Dr. S.E.”. 16 (b) Section 4b (D.C. Official Code § 3-343.02) is amended as follows: 17 (1) New subsections (b-2) and (b-3) are added to read as follows: 18

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“(b-2) Unless expressly authorized by the operator of the Downtown Arena, or its duly 19 authorized agents, no person shall at any time enter onto any portion of the playing surface 20 within the Downtown Arena.”. 21 “(b-3) Unless expressly authorized by the Washington Convention and Sports Authority, 22 the lessee or operator of the Southeast Arena, or their duly authorized agents, no person shall at 23 any time enter onto any portion of the playing surface within the Southeast Arena.”. 24 (2) Subsection (c) is amended to read as follows: 25 “(c) For the purposes of this section, the term “playing field” or “playing surface”, as 26 applicable, means the area encompassed by the seating facilities within the Robert F. Kennedy 27 Memorial Stadium, the Baseball Stadium, the Soccer Stadium, the Downtown Arena, or the 28 Southeast Arena, as such seating facilities may be arranged from time to time.”. 29 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 30 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 31 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 32 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 33 Sec. 4. Effective date. 34 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 35 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review 36 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 37 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 38