Monumental Sports Launches Website Addressing Potomac Yard Arena Opposition

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Washington Capitals and Wizards owner part of the arena proposal for Alexandria's Potomac Yard, has launched a website trying to address areas of opposition.

The website, MonumentalOpportunity.com, lays out the plan for the proposed entertainment district with an arena along with a "fact-checking" page to address common areas of concern by opposed parties. The proposed entertainment district would include an arena for the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, global corporate headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Monumental Sports Network media studio, a Wizards practice facility, a performing arts venue, and an expanded esports facility. Developer JBG Smith is already planning mixed-use development in Potomac Yard with new retail, restaurants, conference hotels, and community gathering spaces. Moving Monumental Sports & Entertainment to Alexandria would further expand the company's presence in Northern Virginia, as the Washington Capitals practice facility is in Arlington. The company also manages EagleBank Arena on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax.

"We are committed to providing industry-leading fan and community experiences while continuously providing the greatest resources for our athletes and teams, deepening community ties, and solidifying our role as leaders at the forefront of sports and technology," said Monumental Sports & Entertainment Founder & CEO Ted Leonsis in a statement. "This expansion will enable us to uphold our commitment to building an exceptional destination for our players, fans, employees, partners, and the community."

The proposal has drawn opposition from some local residents who shared concerns about tax funding for the entertainment district, inadequate transportation infrastructure to support the entertainment district, housing becoming less affordable for current residents and the negative impact on downtown DC from relocating the arena.

One opposed group, the Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard, joined Don't Mute DC for a rally outside Capital One Arena in DC to protest the teams' proposed relocation. The DC group believes lower-income residents of DC will lose their jobs or have more difficulty attending games in Alexandria. A petition started by Don't Mute DC claims the relocation of the teams would disrupt DC, Alexandria and the nearby Reagan National Airport. Alexandrians are skeptical about the economic benefits the entertainment district could bring while drawing from tax revenues.

"At its heart, this arena deal amounts to a massive giveaway of state tax revenue to a
billionaire sports owner and the property developer who owns the proposed arena site," said
Dan Heng, a Potomac Yard resident who is an organizer with the Coalition to Stop the Arena at
Potomac Yard.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment's new website on the arena proposal addresses claims about taxpayer funding, transportation, protections for taxpayers if the company backs out, impacts on housing costs, and fair wages for labor.

On the financial side, the company says the project won't create new taxes on residents and businesses or divert existing tax revenues. The company would pay $403 million itself. If the Virginia General Assembly approves the creation of a Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority, $1.05 billion in project revenue bonds and $416 million in lease revenue bonds would be issued to support the project. Funding to repay the bonds would come from the company's lease payments as well as existing taxes generated on site, like sales tax on tickets, parking taxes and district naming rights.

The City of Alexandria would contribute $106 million to the project for a performing arts venue and underground parking garage. According to the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, the city's initial contribution comes from capital reserves.

On transportation, Monumental Sports & Entertainment acknowledged that impacts on traffic and parking in surrounding neighborhoods would need to be addressed for the project to work. The state currently has a major transportation study underway by transportation engineering firm Kimley-Horn. In the transportation plan, the teams' owner said it would support protecting neighborhoods, transit and non-driving options, efficiency in handling traffic before and after games, and multimodal transportation updates on Route 1.

The company's website hopes to draw support as the Virginia General Assembly considers potential legislation to approve a sports authority. The sports authority would be needed to issue the bonds for the project and lease the site to Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Washington Business Journal says a bill could be introduced as soon as this week. But as Alexandria's state lawmakers discussed during a town hall, bills in the Virginia Senate and House would first need to be considered by committee. Any differences between approved bills would need to be reconciled between the Senate and House. Alexandria's lawmakers and others want to first see findings from the state's transportation study.

Opposed residents want to see the Virginia General Assembly reject the proposal.

“The fact that some of our elected officials endorsed this proposal before fully considering the
community impacts and financial risks — and before getting approval from residents — ells you
all you need to know about this deal," said Rickey Dana, a Potomac Yard resident involved with the opposed coalition. "It stinks. No elected official from either political party in the General Assembly should support a $1.4 billion taxpayer-backed subsidy for a billionaire’s sports and entertainment complex."

The city's own community engagement process about the proposal in the coming weeks. On Jna. 27 at 9:30 a.m., City Council will have a town hall with a short presentation on the project as well as answers to submitted community questions and feedback.