A news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning involving Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin suggests the NBA and NHL teams are planning to move to Northern Virginia, according to multiple media reports.
Virginia state lawmakers on Monday approved an 8 million-square-foot arena complex in Alexandria that would include a new arena as well as a 3,000-seat music and entertainment venue, conference center, hotels and headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Leonsis is CEO of Monumental, which owns the Capitals, Wizards and WNBA’s Washington Mystics, which would remain in the District of Columbia.
The site would be near Amazon’s new HQ2 facility and the new Potomac Yard Metro station.
The proposal still requires approval from Virginia’s full general assembly and the Alexandria City Council. If approved, construction could start by 2025 and the teams could be playing there by 2028, according to a WJLA-TV 7News report.
Leonsis has been in discussions with District officials to renovate Capital One Arena, home of the Capitals and Wizards since it was built in 1997. Monumental had asked for $600 million in public funds, according to the Washington Post. On Tuesday night, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser released details of the city’s “best and final offer” of $500 million in city funding for arena renovation and modernization to keep the teams from moving.
“Mr. Leonsis and Monumental Sports have been critical partners in keeping our downtown thriving, especially after the pandemic,” Bowser said in a statement. “The modernization of the Capital One Arena will be an invaluable investment for continued success and our future prosperity.”
Monumental Sports & Entertainment can leave its lease at Capital One Arena in 2027. Leonsis has called the lease — which he stated costs $36 million per year — “the worst building deal in professional sports,” according to the Post.
–Field Level Media