New home for Caps, Wizards: Will economic wins get wiped out on road to more congestion?

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WAVY) — More money, more people, more traffic.

Those are some of the pros and cons the city can expect if a proposal goes through to move the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards to Potomac Yard, according to a longtime consultant in commercial real estate and development.

The area is already undergoing explosive growth, perhaps too quickly for its own good, according to Nick Egelanian of Siteworks.

“We will build a spectacular $2 billion sports and entertainment district,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) said at Wednesday’s announcement alongside team owner and CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment Ted Leonsis.

Egelanian has seen many of these deals.

“Historically the results are mixed,” he said. “Some cities have felt they’ve made great investments, other have felt they’ve gotten terribly ripped off.”

If the Wizards start tipping off and the Capitals start facing off in Alexandria as early as 2028, the area will have to change.

“It’s gonna change the character of that neighborhood, drastically, and that neighborhood has already changed drastically,” Egelanian said. “That is a major commuter route into Washington DC, It always has had traffic problems.”

So roads will need to be added and expanded, especially the two main routes serving the area — US Route 1 and the George Washington Parkway. The proposal does provide for added road infrastructure.

Egelanian said the Potomac Yard project could succeed because of what’s already there — a brand new Metro station — or soon will be there, including Amazon’s HQ2 and Virginia Tech’s Innovation campus.

Leonsis is promising 30,000 new jobs.

“We want to create jobs, pay taxes, hire people from Virginia Tech and George Mason, and we want to leave much more than we take,” he said.

The plan also includes a 6,000 seat performing arts venue, a part of the plan where Egelanian is skeptical.

“They’re gonna build a new entertainment district, but you never know how that works out,” he said. “That’s a plenty crowded market right now.”

Leonsis and MSE will invest $400 million toward the $2 billion project. Youngkin said no up-front public money would be used. Instead the money would come from tax increment financing.

“In the short run, something like this will probably break even for the government,” Egelanian said. “Long run, it’ll be a good deal for government.”

State Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), the incoming chair of the finance and appropriations committee, hints that the deal could be leverage for her priorities.

“While some want sports stadiums, I want tolls to disappear in Hampton Roads and recreational sale of marijuana,” she said in a post to X (formerly Twitter) “… Guess we’ll have to find compromises.”

D.C. city officials made a last-minute pitch to Leonsis last night, pledging half a billion dollars to make improvements to Capital One Arena. The Alexandria deal is subject to approval by city officials as well as the General Assembly once it begins next month.

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