It seems that the Stadium Club’s fate will be hashed out at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Board hearing on June 28th. Two protest petitions have been filed against the Club’s renewal of its Retailer Class CN Alcohol license. The petitions, submitted by two different groups, state that the Stadium Club will negatively disrupt the peace, order and quiet of the community and public safety. Both petitions have a member of the ANC or Commissioner as a protester. One petition has five signatures and the other has 21 signatures to them.
The Stadium Club owners are attempting to transfer their liquor license from their 900 First Street, SE location to the Queens Chapel Road location as part of moving their strip club to this new area. Opponents are claiming that the previous location had a continuous high rate of crime related to this business and drained First District police resources. They are concerned that this club’s issues will continue in this area, which the MPD has designated a “Hot Spot/Focused Improvement Area”, will drain Patrol Service Area 504’s resources. (**Note: there has already been several police reports to the Stadium Club location since its opening a couple of months ago.)
The biggest hurdle for the opponents will be to actually show up at the hearing on the 28th, which will require at least 5 opponents to attend from each group to have standing. They should also be prepared to show evidence to their claims of safety, real estate property impacts, and drain on police services at the hearing to give their arguments any weight. It is also encouraged that others attend the meeting to show their opposition, if they so choose to:
WHEN: Monday, June 28, 2010, 10:00am
WHERE: 1250 U Street, NW, 2nd Floor hearing room
rhodeislandavene.com 
Where can we read the police reports? I checked out the crime data map and I don’t see anything near it in the last 60 days. The only thing I’ve noticed is that since this place opened the DC Star is actually cleaned by the next morning.
You can find reports on the MPD-5D Yahoo group of the disturbances. The website is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MPD-5D.
I’d like to thank both groups for filing protests. It’s good to know that there are a number of concerned residents in Ward 5 willing to take action on this.
This is the only thing I found and it even says the suspect was never a patron.
I’m sorry, but as much as I’d rather have a Starbucks there, if this place isn’t causing problems it has every right to stay. It’s always clean out front and it has its own parking lot (unlike the DC Star which leaves litter everywhere and has the streets filled up with cars at night.) I live just a little over a thousand feet from here so if this place was bad I’d be the first one protesting, but I’m not.
“An individual approached a subject in the parking lot and struck him with a bottle. The suspect was apprehended without incident. This subject never entered the club nor was he a patron, possible mental status contributed to the incident.”
Where are the several reports I keep hearing about? Can someone please post them here, maybe I’m just not seeing them. I’m not being smart when I say I’d really like to see them.
I just wanted to let you guys know I’m playing devil’s advocate. I don’t want a strip club on my street any more than you guys do. I want every club around here gone. Before you go to this protest though you have to have everything in order to state your case.
Roy,
All this information should be in the public record. Either go to ABRA and look up the info, if you can’t get it online, or attend the hearing.
I don’t have time to look this information up for you. I’m not on any signed petition list.
One complaint that’s distinct in my mind that was posted on the MPD5-D group had to do with the loud noises coming from that club. The complainer lived over the bridge and could hear the raucus. The post gave the club by it’s address, not name.
In many cases people opposing an ABRA license have a hired lawyer on hand. It amazes me the lengths that places like the Stadium Club make community groups go through to maintain law, order, and decency in their neighborhoods.
All I’m saying is if someone writes a blog post that there are several police reports about this place they should be able to provide the police reports.
I have to say that as someone who lives right down the street, I’m less concerned about Stadium Club than I am DC Tunnel, or whatever it’s called these days. Stadium Club has parking, so patrons don’t park in the residential section of Queens Chapel Rd. The other club doesn’t. Their obnoxious, loud, drunk, and violent patrons are the ones that wake me up at 4am with fights and smashing car windows.
Any news on what happened at the hearing?
Strip Club and Walmart? Here’s an article by Urban Turf from July 6
http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/wal-mart_likely_coming_to_dc/2235
Wal-Mart Likely Coming to DC
July 6, 2010
by Will Smith
Wal-Mart may open its first location within the District, according to a report by The Washington Post. While not yet certain, the company is “expected” to sign a lease this fall for space near the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road near the city’s northeast border with Maryland (map).
The location is the same that renowned local developer Jim Abdo had planned to develop into a massive billion-dollar mixed-use project. Those plans unraveled earlier this year due to lack of financing. Abdo himself told The Post that he believes the site could be perfect for Wal-Mart given its location as a gateway to the city. “When you’ve got 80,000 cars that go by your front door, that’s about as good as it gets from a retail perspective.”
The news that Wal-Mart could be coming to DC has already (and predictably) stirred debate. Supporters argue that it will bring jobs and economic activity to the city, and offer a good retail alternative for lower-income residents in particular. They also point out that having a Wal-Mart within the District versus in nearby Virginia or Maryland will keep the revenue in the city. Detractors worry that it will worsen traffic at an already congested intersection. Many are also opposed to Wal-Mart on principle due to its reputation for poor treatment of employees and the harm it can do to local retailers.
There is one thing that both sides appear to agree on, however: Wal-Mart would be a more economic utilization of the land than the current tenants, which include a strip club and used auto parts shops.