Virginia lawmakers set to take up proposal to help fund arena for Capitals, Wizards
Virginia lawmakers are set to take up legislation to enable Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan to build a new professional sports arena and entertainment district in Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Advocates of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan to build a new professional sports arena and entertainment district in northern Virginia say the project would be a generational job-creator so lucrative it will pay for itself.
Critics, meanwhile, argue the proposal to lure the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals across the Potomac from the nation's capital will amount to an extravagant taxpayer handout to the wealthy owners of the teams' parent company.
In the coming 2024 legislative session that kicks off Wednesday, Virginia lawmakers will have to make their position on that divide clear, as they take up complex legislation to enable the move.
Youngkin, a Republican, and entrepreneur Ted Leonsis, an ultrawealthy former AOL executive and the CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, announced publicly in December that they had reached an understanding on a deal to relocate the teams. If it comes to fruition, Youngkin could claim a major win. Virginia is the nation's most populous state without a major pro-sports franchise, something government officials of both parties over the course of decades have sought to change.
The plan — which comes amid a new wave of sports facility construction around the country — calls for the creation of a $2 billion development in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria that would include an arena, practice facility and corporate headquarters for Monumental, plus a separate performing arts venue, all just miles from Capital One Arena, where the teams currently play in
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