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A group of Virginia state lawmakers voted yesterday in favor of a deal to bring the Capitals and Wizards to a new arena in Northern Virginia, according to sources cited in a front-page piece by Armus, Vozella, Fortier & Schneider of the WASHINGTON POST. The plan, which still requires approval from the full General Assembly and local officials, would move both teams to a “new facility anchoring a massive mixed-use development” in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood. The deal would also create a Virginia stadium authority, which would “own the larger complex and lease it to Monumental Sports & Entertainment,” which owns both franchises. Sources said that MSE has “not definitively said whether it would move the pro teams to Virginia,” but if the deal went forward, MSE would “put hundreds of millions of its own dollars into the project.” The deal could also “be a step” in MSE founder & CEO Ted Leonsis in “taking the company public.” Monumental has asked D.C. for $600M in public funds for a major renovation, but D.C. is also “juggling onerous budgetary constraints with requests from pro sports owners” and “looming competition over the future site of the next Commanders stadium. At this point, it is “unclear when the deal with Virginia would be announced” after getting the green light, but if Monumental’s deal with Virginia goes forward, Capital One Arena “could still host concerts and college basketball games." The group wrote moving to Virginia “could offer Monumental more opportunities for non-sports revenue than it is afforded in the District" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/11).
A NEW ENTERTAINMENT HUB: In Richmond, Kolenich & Martz in a front-page piece cite a Northern Virginia legislators who said that the proposed project would include an arena “seating more than 20,000 for sports and entertainment, plus a separate venue for concerts and conventions, with a pedestrian plaza between them.” The mixed-use development also includes an “underground parking garage that could accommodate 2,500 vehicles.” The development would also house offices for MSE and its regional sports television network. A source said that initially, MSE “considered moving much of its Washington operations to Virginia” and “asked for government incentives” worth $600M or more. Another source said that the deal “never included the possible relocation of the WNBA Mystics franchise” (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 12/11).
ANOTHER BIDDING WAR: In D.C, Michael Phillips wrote the news and discussions “reflect a reality about to be facing the District — multiple sports teams seeking major investments at a time when the city is struggling financially and working to revitalize a downtown that has yet to fully bounce back post-pandemic.” Both MSE and the Commanders’ lease of FedEx Field in Landover, Md. end in 2027, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said that the city “will aggressively pursue” the Commanders. Meanwhile, the Nationals are also “seeking upgrades” to Nationals Park, which opened 15 years ago (WASHINGTON TIMES, 12/11). Virginia state Rep. George Barker, who sits on the Major Economic Investment Project Approval Commission, said that the project “wouldn't cost Virginia taxpayers anything because it would not come from an existing pool of money.” Adding that Virginia would “own any arena and lease it to Monumental for 40 years, and the company's lease would pay off the project over that time” (NBCWASHINGTON.com, 12/11). In D.C, Drew Hansen wrote MSE “could be using talks with Virginia to drive a better deal from the District.” The Wizards and Capitals moving out of the Chinatown/Penn Quarter area would be a “catastrophic blow” to D.C., which has “struggled to reinvigorate its downtown coming through the pandemic as many office workers have remained at home” (WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, 12/11).
