WASHINGTON POST: A group of Virginia state lawmakers voted Monday in favor of a deal to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to a new arena in Northern Virginia, according to four people with knowledge of the situation.
Under the plan, which would still require approval from the full General Assembly and local officials, both teams would move to a new facility anchoring a massive mixed-use development in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, according to three of those people and four others. All of them spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the plan. A Virginia stadium authority would own the larger complex and lease it to Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Capitals and the Wizards.
Monumental has not definitively said whether it would move the pro teams to Virginia. If the deal went forward, the company would put hundreds of millions of its own dollars into the project, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The deal, if ultimately approved, would constitute a major economic development win for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) after his party’s losses in last month’s state elections. It could also be a step in Monumental owner Ted Leonsis taking the company public — a move he openly considered in an interview with Bloomberg over the summer. And while the plan would supercharge development in a part of Alexandria that is newly accessible by Metro, it could amount to a crushing blow to D.C.’s struggling downtown. District officials have been in talks with Monumental over renovating the Capitals’ and Wizards’ home at Capital One Arena as they attempt to revitalize the surrounding area.
The arena, built in 1997, is one of the older facilities in the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association. Monumental has asked the District for $600 million 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.
