So much for Ted Leonsis' much-maligned plan to move his professional sports franchises out of the nation's capital. The city of Alexandria, Virginia announced on Wednesday that it has ended ended discussions on a proposal by Monumental Sports to move the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals from their longtime home in Washington, D.C. to a new arena in the Potomac Yard Entertainment District.
Leonsis, owner of the Wizards and Capitals in his role as chief of Monumental Sports, announced his intention in mid-December to build a new arena at the 70-acre site across the Potomac River. Alexandria mayor Justin Wilson and the city council officially squashed those plans on Wednesday, announcing that negotiations related to the development have anded and the project will not move forward.
In a statement, Wilson suggested Monumental's refusal to meet the city's requirements needed to accept the proposal—including affordable housing developments and updates to transportation systems, among other civic improvements—left Alexandria no choice but to end talks on the Wizards and Capitals relocating across the Potomac.
“Throughout this process, the City has been committed to ensuring that our role in this project not only added financial value but promised that our core values would remain an integral part of this opportunity,” he said. “The City was adamant that any favorable consideration of the proposal included substantial and thoughtful improvements to the existing transportation system; included affordable housing; protect our stellar AAA bond rating; protect existing and future residents from financial risk; provided substantial future revenue for city and school services; protected existing neighborhoods; and provided quality jobs for our community. We are disappointed negotiations did not result in a proposal that protected our financial interests and respected these community values.”
Wizards, Capitals set to stay in D.C.
Shortly after Alexandria rejected Leonsis' plans for good, an agreement to keep the Wizards and Capitals in D.C. came to quick fruition. Leonsis and Washington, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser have agreed to a deal that will keep the franchises in the nation's capital until 2050, according to the Washington Post. An announcement is scheduled for late Wednesday at Capitol One Arena, the team's current home.
As part of the agreement, D.C. would spend over $500 million over three years to help Leonsis—whose net worth is approximately $3 billion—modernize Capitol One arena. In return, Monumental would sign a new lease that keeps the teams where they are for the next 25 years.
Other provisions of the tentative agreement include Leonsis taking over management of the WNBA's Washington Mystics' arena in southeast D.C., city buildings being used for parking for Monumental employees and a commitment to keeping a minimum number of police officers in downtown D.C. The Wizards would get a new downtown practice facility if the deal goes through, too.
Leonsis and Bowser told The Post they'd stayed in regular contact on a potential agreement even after the former announced his hopes to move the Wizards and Capitals to Alexandria. After one of his meetings with Bowser, Leonsis said he realized that “all of a sudden I really felt like we were in this together and that D.C. — it’s where I wanted to be.”
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin—who played a major role in Monumental's initial plans to move the franchises—issued a subsequent statement decrying Alexandra's decision to pass on becoming the Wizards and Capitals' new home.
“Virginians deserve better,” he said, according to The Post. “[Enormous economic potential] just went up in smoke…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.’ But no, personal and political agendas drove away [the deal].”
Wilson disagreed with Youngkin's assessment.
“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,” he said in a separate video statement. “Instead we got caught up in partisan warfare in Richmond.”
Thousands of D.C. natives and residents who opposed the teams' prospective relocation are no doubt celebrating Wednesday's developments. Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal is no longer among them, but will surely be pleased the franchise he called home for the first 11 years of his career isn't going anywhere.
“There's no moving to Virginia. Like, what is that?” Beal said in December. “Ted, we love you to death and we understand what you want to do. But, you cannot take the team out of DC… We have got to keep that and DC has to stay.”
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