Potomac Yard Arena Proposal Not Advancing, Arena To Stay In D.C.

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The proposal to bring an arena and entertainment district to Alexandria's Potomac Yard is officially dead, according to the city of Alexandria. The Washington Capitals and Wizards team owner indicated that the arena will in Washington, D.C.

Mayor Justin Wilson said in a video statement that the city will no longer consider the current proposal since it did not advance on the state level. The mayor said the city will look for other commercial opportunities to add more commercial revenue to the tax base, as the current tax burden largely falls on residential property owners.

"In a very uncertain time for our region's economic future, we continue to believe that the Potomac Yard entertainment district opportunity was worthy of community discussion and council consideration," said Wilson. "We are disappointed that this proposal was not able to be thoughtfully considered on its merits by legislators, stakeholders and ultimately now by our community, and instead got caught up in partisan warfare in Richmond."

Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis confirmed in a statement that the teams will stay at Capital One Arena. D.C. has committed to financing $500 million to renovating Capital One Arena and will provide $15 million to make improvements to the alley connecting Gallery Place and Capital One Arena.

"Mayor Bowser and her team heard us and worked with us and gave us the tools for us to meet the needs of our business to expand right here in downtown," said Leonsis. "We are going to have time to talk about our experience in Virginia, but that is not today. Today is about staying in D.C. and is about what the Mayor and Council have done in downtown D.C."

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who announced the proposal in December with Leonsis, said in a statement that the arena would have boosted economic development and jobs.

"This should have been our deal and our opportunity, all the General Assembly had to do was say: ‘thank you, Monumental, for wanting to come to Virginia and create $12 billion of economic investment, let’s work it out,’" Youngkin said. "But no, personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no upfront general fund money and no tax increases, that created tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue for Virginia."

State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), the chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, worked to ensure the arena deal didn't make it into the Virginia General Assembly's budget. She questioned the need for taxpayer financing of a private development project.

"As Monumental announces today they are staying in Washington DC we are celebrating in Virginia that we avoided the Monumental Disaster! Thank you to everyone who stood with us in this fight!" Lucas shared in a tweet.

The Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard, which spoke out against the legislation in Richmond, praised the decision to end the arena proposal.

"Economic development that benefits all residents of Alexandria and the Commonwealth can only happen with transparent input from the citizens who will be affected," said Andrew Macdonald, a former Alexandria vice mayor who co-founded the coalition. "Backroom deals negotiated in secret and sprung on the citizens at the last minute must not be standard operating procedure in Alexandria or anywhere else ever again."

The proposal called for relocating the Washington Capitals and Wizards arena from Capital One Arena in DC. It would have been part of an entertainment district including new headquarters for the teams' owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment along with a performance venue.

State financing for the arena, the first step required for the proposal to advance, was not included in the budget approved by the Virginia General Assembly. The General Assembly action would have created a Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority to issue $1.05 billion in project revenue bonds and $416 million in lease revenue bonds for the arena and entertainment district. The project would also receive a $403 million contribution from Monumental Sports & Entertainment and $106 million from the City of Alexandria to build a performing arts venue in partnership with Monumental Sports & Entertainment and related underground parking.

The plan to keep the teams in D.C. comes after Mayor Muriel Bowser formed the Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force in January to work on a long-term vision for the area surrounding Capital One Arena and opened the first Safe Commercial Corridor Hub to connect residents to city services and keep the neighborhood clean. In response to concerns about increasing crime in D.C., the D.C. Council passed its Secure DC omnibus legislation earlier in March.