WASHINGTON (AP) – Late last year, Ted Leonsis told District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser that his NBA team, the NBA's Washington Wizards, and the NHL's Washington Capitals would probably leave Washington and move to Virginia. When I told her that she would be heading to , she replied, “No, not really.''
In the end, she was proven right.
team is stay in the district They persisted long after Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan to bring them to Virginia fell apart and the city and owners reached an agreement on a $515 million publicly funded arena project. .
Bowser and Leonsis signed letters of intent Wednesday on a contract that will keep the team in the district through 2050. Minutes later, both teams announced the development at a joint press conference at their current home, Capital One Arena.
Alexandria, Virginia, Mayor Justin Wilson said in a statement that negotiations to bring the NHL Capitals and Washington Wizards to Northern Virginia have concluded.
“It was a great day. I'm really relieved,” Leonsis said. “Not only is this the right thing for the community, the right thing for the city, and the right thing for us, it’s a very smart business deal.”
The project will include a 200,000 square foot (18,580 square meter) expansion of the arena complex into the nearby Gallery Place space, the creation of an entertainment district around Chinatown, and safety and transportation improvements.
“We are the current home and future home of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards,” said Bowser, wearing a Wizards jersey. “As Ted likes to say, we're going to be together for a long time.”
The District of Columbia Board of Regents will consider the agreement next week and is expected to pass it, Chairman Phil Mendelsohn said at a news conference.
The agreement between Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the city was announced by officials in Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac River. Discuss the new arena That would have been the end of that team.
Leonsis acknowledged that Virginia has land, an advantage that D.C. doesn't have.
“It's an arms race to build something bigger, better, higher quality,” Leonsis said, referring to the new entertainment community, which won't be as large as the 12 acres (4.9 acres) envisioned in the deal. “We are currently participating in the project, but we are running out of space.” hectares) were dedicated to Arena in Virginia. “But enough is enough.”
The ultra-wealthy entrepreneur generally prefers not to discuss Virginia, a state where political divisions between Youngkin, a Republican, and Democrats who control the Legislature have led to plans to stall. He said he threw some jabs against him.
“You can't do it alone. I thought we had a great partnership, and we felt like we had a really good partnership,” Leonsis said.
This development is a blow to Yongkin. announced a few months ago He announced to much fanfare the outline of the Alexandria proposal, which he called a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to bring two major professional sports teams to the nation's most populous state.
The governor expressed his disappointment and frustration in a statement Wednesday and said the blame lies with Democrats.
“This should have been our deal and our opportunity. The General Assembly says, 'Thank you, Monumental, for coming to Virginia and saying we want to generate $12 billion in economic investment. Let's try and make it happen.' But that’s not the case, personal and political agendas overrode the agreement,” he said.
Democrats countered that Yonkin mismanaged the proposal from the beginning. House Speaker Don Scott said he was shocked by Youngkin's statement, saying it sounded like it was written by a teenager, and was outraged that Congress should have easily approved the deal. Told.
“He's lost his sense of decency right now,” Scott said, indicating he was open to the deal, although he did not fully support it.
He added that based on the tone of the statement, he expects Yonkin may retaliate by vetoing the budget from lawmakers. sent him Early this month.
The city of Alexandria, which first announced the news, said in a statement on its website that it was similarly disappointed.
“We negotiated the framework for this opportunity in good faith and participated in the process in Richmond in good faith,” the statement said. “We trusted the process and are disappointed in what happened between the governor and the General Assembly.”
Matt Kelly, CEO of publicly traded real estate firm JBG SMITH, a trading partner for the potential Alexandria developer, blamed “partisan politics” and said he was “not interested in the possibility of pay-to-play.” issued a fiery statement raising the outlook. The project's demise was influential.
“Beyond the arena, state and local governments will lose much-needed tax revenue, economic development credibility, and what may have been Virginia's last best chance to acquire a professional sports franchise for at least a generation. “It will be,” Kelly said.
Virginia's plan calls for creating a $2 billion development in Alexandria's Potomac Yard neighborhood that would include not only a new arena but also Monumental's practice facility and headquarters, as well as an independent It also includes performing arts venues.
The General Assembly was asked to create an authority that would issue bonds to finance most of the project, to be paid back with a combination of anticipated tax revenues collected from the development, with some support from the city and state governments.
Yonkin and other supporters said the development would create tens of thousands of jobs and generate new tax revenue in excess of what was needed to finance it.
the plan faced opposition from the labor unionAlexandria residents were concerned about traffic conditions, and D.C. officials worried about losing teams. destroy downtown Washington.
Mr. Youngkin and other supporters also failed to win support from powerful Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.she took advantage of that position Lucas called for the bill to be blocked, citing a variety of concerns, but first and foremost the deal's funding structure. He said the use of moral obligation bonds puts taxpayers and the state's finances at risk.
Lucas celebrated the proposal's passage on Wednesday. She posted on social media a cartoon of herself brushing away a basketball with the word “rejected” superimposed on her. She wrote, “Today we're celebrating averting a Monumental disaster in Virginia as Monumental announced they'll be in Washington, DC!”
Leonsis has changed his tone on social media in recent days, noting the large crowds that have flocked to Capital One Arena this month for everything from the Capitals and Wizards to ACC tournament basketball and a Zach Bryan concert. . he posted on Wednesday Monumental had expected more than 400,000 fans to pass through the turnstiles in March.
Leonsis said that shortly after Virginia unveiled its proposal, he and Bowser began discussions to keep the team in the district, including regular meetings in the lobbies of upscale hotels. It is said that it was
“Ten minutes ago, I had never signed a piece of paper,” Leonsis said.
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Rankin reported from Richmond, Virginia, and Barakat reported from Falls Church, Virginia.
