WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- District leaders heard from Washingtonians, business owners and stakeholders Thursday to get their take on funneling hundreds of millions of D.C. taxpayer dollars into a major refresh of Capital One Arena and the downtown neighborhood. The current plan, the Downtown Arena Revitalization Act would also see the District buy the arena and lease it back to Monumental Sports and Entertainment. This comes almost a year after Monumental threatened to move the teams to a new arena in Alexandria. The owner of the Washington Capitals and Wizards, Ted Leonsis, and the D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the plan last month, with a total cost of more than $800 million dollars. When all is said and done, more than $500 million would come from D.C.'s tax base, while Monumental would contribute more than $200 million toward a refresh of the arena and Downtown neighborhood. Some Washingtonians who testified Thursday asked why the billionaire owner wasn't footing the whole bill. "Mr. Leonsis' net worth is $2.6 billion. Why do they need District tax dollars? I am confused," said Robert Vincent Branham, the Chairman of the Ward 5 Public Safety Committee. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Nina Albert, said D.C. had to put up a high-dollar deal to stay in the game. "You see it right here in this region with Virginia, D.C. and Maryland competing for this [professional sports] business. When you're in a state of competition, it's about who is going to bring the most to the table," said Albert, noting that D.C. offered significantly less than Virginia's previous billion-dollar offer. What’s Going Around | November: One of worst months for allergies Most people who testified before the D.C. Council were in favor of the renovations. "I'm an avid fan of the Wizards. Right now, we need to win more games. But the arena does need massive updating," said Jim Simpson, the President and CEO of Continental Construction, Inc. Monumental Sports and Entertainment President of External Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer Monica Dixon also testified on Thursday. She said they could start work on the project as soon as next month if everything passes. "We will be enhancing every fan's event day experience, from street to seat," she said. Another big topic of discussion? Which companies will get the high-dollar construction contracts and how D.C. government can go about keeping those dollars in the District. Albert and members of the council said the plan is to have at least 40% of companies involved in the construction be certified business enterprises, known as CBEs, here in the District. The goal is to get that number closer to 50%. CBEs get preferential treatment for D.C. government procurement contracts. Another stipulation for all companies involved in the project: 51% of new hires will need to be D.C. residents.