Wizards, Capitals Plan Move to Virginia in Tenative Deal

The NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals have an agreement to move to northern Virginia as part of a mixed-use entertainment district, announced the state of Virginia and Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the two professional teams.

The proposal, which needs state legislature approval, calls for the creation of a $2 billion sports and entertainment district south of Washington in Alexandria. It would include an arena for the Wizards and Capitals as well as a new Wizards practice facility, a separate performing arts center, a media studio, new hotels, a convention center, housing and shopping. The Capitals already have a practice facility in Northern Virginia.

“We are committed to providing world-class fan experiences while continuously evolving our teams, deepening community ties and solidifying our role as leaders at the forefront of sports and technology,” said Monumental Chief Executive Officer Ted Leonsis. “The opportunity to expand to this 70-acre site in Virginia, neighboring industry-leading innovators, and a great academic partner, would enable us to further our creativity and achieve next-generation, leading work – all while keeping our fans and the community at the forefront of everything we do.”

To help finance the project, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will ask the Virginia General Assembly in the 2024 session to approve the creation of a Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority, a public entity with the ability to issue bonds. Those bonds would be repaid partly by tax revenues from the project.

The new development would be located in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria, near Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus, an under-construction graduate school focused on technology. Potomac Yard, south of Reagan National Airport, is currently occupied by strip malls and other retail.

In the 1990s, the site received consideration as a site for an NFL stadium, but negotiations between the team and Virginia fell through. Asked how a move by Monumental might impact the state’s efforts to lure the NFL’s Commanders to Virginia and whether those talks were ongoing, Youngkin told The Associated Press that he could not comment. Legislation aimed at recruiting the football team to northern Virginia fell apart last year.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled a counterproposal aimed at keeping the teams on Tuesday night that would direct a half billion dollars to modernize Capital One Arena. Bowser said that proposal has unanimous support from the D.C. Council. Monumental has a sportsbook directly accessible from Capital One Arena in partnership with William Hill U.S.

“The modernization of the Capital One Arena will be an invaluable investment for continued success and our future prosperity,” Bowser said in a statement. “This proposal represents our best and final offer and is the next step in partnering with Monumental Sports to breathe new life and vibrancy into the neighborhood and to keep the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals where they belong – in Washington, DC.”

Monumental also owns the WNBA’s Mystics and Leonsis said his expectation was that Capital One Arena, where the Wizards and Capitals currently play, could host women’s sports and other events like concerts. When the Capitals and Wizards moved from suburban Maryland to D.C.’s Chinatown district in 1997 in what was then known as MCI Center, officials credited the arena with sparking a revival in downtown. In recent years, critics have faulted city officials for lax crime policies.