Six years after consolidating his majority stakes in the Wizards, Capitals and Verizon Center, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Founder, Chair, CEO & Majority Owner Ted Leonsis is "confronting a future full of important economic milestones," including a potential "move of the Capitals and Wizards" out of Verizon Center, according to Dave Sheinin of the WASHINGTON POST. Leonsis said, "My inclination right now would be -- it’s pretty awesome where we are. And I love what’s happened to (downtown) DC. But I don’t know what’s going to happen five, six, seven years from now ... I will be a free agent. I mean, that hasn’t been lost on me.” Leonsis spoke about his "business challenges -- including a mortgage on Verizon Center that costs him" an estimated $36M annually, which he "called 'the worst building deal in professional sports.'" Leonsis "made it clear he is not actively seeking to leave" downtown DC. But Leonsis "danced around questions about the current site of RFK Stadium" in Southeast DC, "long rumored to be a potential landing spot for the Capitals and Wizards after DC United moves into its new stadium at Buzzard Point" in '18 or '19. Meanwhile, Leonsis said of his new DC-centric OTT network, "I am trying to build the most important, most influential regional sports and entertainment set of franchises in the world" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/3).
