(Washington, DC)  –  More than 60 current and potential street vendors attended two DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) sponsored information sessions to learn about vending opportunities at the new Nationals Park in Southeast.

The two public sessions, held in Wards 2 and 8, provided detailed information on newly available sites around Nationals Park and general information about starting a new street vending business.

“Street vending is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs as it requires significantly lower start-up costs when compared with traditional storefront businesses,” said DCRA Director Linda Argo. “We strongly encourage all District residents thinking of starting a new business to consider street vending as an excellent way to begin.”

DCRA will accept applications from the public and currently licensed vendors to be entered into a lottery for the 28 new stadium sites through 4:30 pm today at its Basic Business License Center, Suite 1100, at 941 North Capitol Street, NE. More than 30 applications have already been received.

Detailed maps of the stadium sites are available on the DCRA website. Winners of the lottery, which will be conducted by an independent contractor, will be posted at dcra.dc.gov by 10:30 am on Friday, May 30, 2008.

Winners of the lottery will have exclusive rights to their site for one month beginning on June 1, 2008. DCRA will hold subsequent lotteries on the last Tuesday of each month to distribute the sites for the following month for the duration of the baseball season.

DCRA, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), will continue to monitor the area to identify new sites and ensure current sites remain safe for vendors and the public as new construction in the area continues.