WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: The arena is home to the Washington Wizards and Capitals and hosts other events like concerts.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment is requesting $600 million in public funding from the District for a major renovation to Capital One Arena, according to The Washington Post.
The money would go toward an $800 million transformation of the downtown arena that’s home to the Washington Wizards and Capitals, according to the report, which cites two unnamed sources.
I’ve reached out to Monumental for comment and will update this post when I hear back.
That renovation plan includes an overhaul of the arena’s seating bowl to add more seats closer to game action, as well as the construction of a food court that would be open beyond game days, according to the report. Monumental, which is led by billionaire Ted Leonsis, wants to do the work across four summer offseasons starting in 2024, according to the report.
“The District recognizes that Capital One Arena serves as an important economic anchor as we continue to reimagine and reinvigorate our Downtown,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement to the Post that a spokesperson said was “jointly attributable to Monumental.”
The ask comes as Monumental is also said to be talks about building a new arena in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, according to the report. That area recently opened a new Metro station on the Blue and Yellow lines and it’s where Virginia Tech is building its future computer science-focused graduate campus. Earlier reports indicated Monumental was looking at sites closer to Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters just to the north of Alexandria in Arlington County.
Monumental could be using talks with Virginia about an Alexandria site 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 the District, which has struggled to reinvigorate its downtown coming through the pandemic as many office workers have remained at home. An increase in crime in the District has also created concerns, particularly for Monumental, which has hired additional off-duty police to beef up security around the arena. Beyond the Wizards and Capitals games, the arena also hosts concerts, Georgetown Hoyas basketball games and other events. Monumental’s Mystics of the WNBA play their home games at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Congress Heights.
The ask from Monumental also comes as the prospects of a new stadium for the Washington Commanders at the RFK Stadium campus in the District have been reinvigorated under the new ownership group led by Josh Harris. The Washington Nationals have also asked the city to fund upgrades to its stadium. Last month, the District has named a team of consultants to help it study financing models for investment in new and existing sports stadiums.
Monumental is also looking for additional space for its business staff, according to the report, as it has grown in size with the purchase of regional sports broadcaster Monumental Sports Network, formerly NBC Sports Washington, and needs more office space.
Gallery Place, the mixed-use landmark next to Capital One Arena, is currently up for sale after an affiliate of owner Oxford Properties defaulted on a $185 million loan secured by the property. Oxford said it did not plan to keep current on the loan because of “recent and impending vacancies,” as well as an unwillingness to cover debt service out of pocket, my college Tristan Navera reported last month. JLL is marketing the loan.
Monumental has pumped nearly $160 million into renovations of Capital One Arena over the years, most recently on new scoreboards and the sound system as well as upgrades to suites and signs in the arena. The District also subsidized improvements in 2007 with $50 million in tax-increment financing.
Leonsis hinted in a blog post late last year that significant changes were being planned for the exterior of the arena.
“We are hoping to undergo major redevelopments soon that will change much of the external part of the building,” Leonsis wrote on his Ted’s Take blog. “The visions and plans for Capital One Arena 2.0 are major, but the fans, players, and employees deserve it.”
The arena, initially called MCI Center, debuted on Dec. 2, 1997. It is currently the 10th-oldest arena in the 30-team NBA.
NexImmune, a Gaithersburg life sciences company, has officially regained compliance with the Nasdaq stock market’s listing requirements following its reverse stock split last month.
The company, which had faced a delisting threat because its shares were traded under $1 for at least 30 straight days, said Thursday it has received word from the Nasdaq’s listing qualifications department that its stock now meets minimum bid requirements and “the matter is now closed.”
NexImmune is developing an immunotherapy treatment for cancer but has yet to bring a product to market. Last month, completed a 1-for-25 reverse stock split, which had the effect of reducing the number of outstanding shares and raising its stock price.
NexImmune’s shares closed at $2.93 Friday, down 17.6% from Thursday’s closing price. They are down about 30% since the Oct. 19 stock split.
- Capital One Financial Corp. is looking to off load more New York City real estate as commercial property values continue to fall. (Bloomberg)
- Bank of America’s mobile app flashed a message Friday that said customers could be facing temporary delays in depositing funds into their accounts after a technical glitch impacted multiple financial institutions. (Reuters)
- George Washington University canceled many in-person events to celebrate the inauguration of President Ellen Granberg amid mounting campus tension stemming from demonstrations related to the Israel-Hamas war. (WTOP)
- Metro is shutting down part of the Red Line in downtown D.C., affecting five stations, including the closure of two stations, during parts of the last two weeks of December. (Washington Post)
