Monumental, Youngkin announce deal to move Caps, Wizards to Virginia

[mahatmakanejeeves]

There was a big discussion of this Tuesday morning at ARLnow:

NEWS

Morning Notes

ARLnow.com December 12, 2023 at 7:30am

{snip}

And the story is covered this morning at ALXnow:

NEWS

BREAKING: Washington Capitals and Wizards are officially moving to Potomac Yard

ALXnow.com Today at 8:30am

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Monumental, Youngkin announce deal to move Caps, Wizards to Virginia

Renderings show a 20,000-seat arena, practice facilities for the Wizards and Capitals, expanded esports facilities, a performing arts venue, “fan plaza” and more

By Sam Fortier and Teo Armus
Updated December 13, 2023 at 11:26 a.m. EST | Published December 13, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. EST

The owner of the Wizards and Capitals has reached a nonbinding arrangement that would move the teams from downtown D.C. to a new arena in Northern Virginia as soon as 2028, potentially upending the regional sports landscape.

Ted Leonsis, owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) appeared together Wednesday at an event in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood where the terms of the framework were detailed.

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No official agreement has been signed, but Youngkin said he felt confident enough in the deal to join Leonsis and others in making the public announcement.

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Rendering of the performing arts venue and arena being proposed by Monumental Sports & Entertainment at Potomac Yard in Virginia. (Courtesy of JBG Smith)

As envisioned, Monumental’s facility would anchor a 12-acre mixed-use development in the heart of that area, part of a tentative agreement still subject to multiple state and local approvals. If Monumental ultimately moves to Virginia, it would mark a major economic development win for Youngkin and deal a blow to D.C.’s struggling downtown. The transition could also ease the path for Leonsis to take the company public, a possibility he has openly discussed.

Preliminary development plans for Potomac Yard



Sources: Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Alexandria Economic Development Partnership,
GoogleEarthPro and Alexandria GIS open data hub
LARIS KARKLIS/THE WASHINGTON POST

{snip}

Laura Vozzella, Meagan Flynn, Michael Brice-Saddler, Jonathan O’Connell and Laris Karklis contributed to this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

By Sam Fortier
Sam Fortier is a beat writer for The Post covering Washington's NFL team. Twitter https://twitter.com/Sam4TR

By Teo Armus
Teo Armus covers people, issues and local government in Northern Virginia for The Washington Post. He joined The Post as a staff writer in 2019. Twitter https://twitter.com/teoarmus

[Midnight Writer]

1. Taxpayers pay for an arena, then the arena is gifted to a billionaire

so he can make more money charging taxpayers to enter the arena they built.

[nitpicked]

2. This will SO mess up Route 1 traffic

And the surrounding parking for residents, for Target and the other retailers at Potomac Yards, clinics there, etc.

I hope VT's "innovation campus" included parking for campus activities...