Virginia senator says proposed deal to bring Monumental Sports arena to Alexandria is ‘dead’

RICHMOND, Va. (DC News Now) — State Sen. Louise Lucas said as far as she’s concerned, a proposal by Monumental Sports and Entertainment to build an arena in Alexandria that would serve as the new home of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards is dead.

The bill would create a stadium authority that could issue bonds for the project, a critical component of the plan.

Lucas and fellow Democratic State Sen. Scott Surovell said during a news conference in Richmond Monday that Gov. Glenn Youngkin pushed the proposal through the major economic investments process in December with the help of outgoing legislators.

The senators said that, so far, Youngkin has not dealt with the lawmakers who eventually will handle the bill.

Details released about Wizards, Capitals proposed move to Alexandria

“Mistake number two was not bringing the legislature in early enough before all the information was just out there in the public,” Lucas said. “If he’s willing to renege on a lease for the folks in D.C., what’s to say he wouldn’t do that to us?”

Youngkin’s office released the following comment in response: “The Governor is confident at the end of the day that the General Assembly will come together because this project is good for the entire Commonwealth. It creates 30,000 jobs and unlocks billions in new revenue that can be used to fund expanded toll relief in Portsmouth, increased funding for I-81, and new money for education for rural and urban school divisions across the Commonwealth.”

Monumental’s move of Wizards, Capitals could have severe economic impact on DC businesses

Users on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, had strong feelings about the news. One user said: “This is why the minute it was revealed the deal was non binding, I said it’d never happen.”

Another user simply said “Big L.”

During a press conference later in the day, Monumental Sports and Entertainment spokeswoman Monica Dixon expressed steadfast confidence in the project.

“Our only plan is to pursue this incredible project,” Dixon said, indicating the sports giant is not seriously considering a bid to keep the teams in the District.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser previously offered $500 million in renovations to Capital One Arena. Today, Bowser indicated she’ll unrelentingly hold the teams to their agreement to play in D.C. through 2047.

“We have to make sure that D.C. taxpayers are protected. This case is no different,” she said.

Monumental wrote on X that a provision in its Chinatown lease permits the teams to terminate their agreement 20 years early if municipal bonds used to fund the arena are fully paid off. Yet D.C. officials indicate that if the bonds are not paid off, they’ll hold Monumental to its commitment. It’s unclear whether Monumental can pay a lump sum to pay off the bonds, but Bowser said she has no intention of paying off the bonds early.

The House version of the bill passed the appropriations committee on Friday. If the full house passes the bill, it will crossover to the state senate for a vote. A provision added by the appropriations committee would allow the legislature to table the legislation for another year.

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