Ted Leonsis to hold press conference in Alexandria
It’s looking more and more likely the Washington Capitals can move to Virginia and we just learned from ABC 7 News that team owner Ted Leonsis is attending an event at the new location in Potomac Yard on Wednesday alongside VA governor Glenn Youngkin. It is expected to start at 9 a.m.
On Monday there was news that Leonsis’ consideration to move the Capitals to the commonwealth of Northern Virginia was picking up steam as Virginia lawmakers approved a proposed site that will turn into an eight million square foot sports and mixed use campus in Alexandria, Virginia.
The deal will include an arena for both the Capitals and Wizards, a 3,000 seat music and entertainment venue, a conference center, hotels, as well as a headquarters for Monumental Sports and Entertainment. The WNBA’s Mystics will remain at Entertainment and Sports Arena in DC.
While it’s picked up steam, the prosed site still has to be approved by the General Assembly and the Alexandria City Council. Monumental has been involved in the process of coming up with details in this proposal.
A Virginia stadium authority would own the arena and Monumental will have a 40 year lease. According to 7 News, the area is expected to generate around $3.8 billion in economic benefit, compared to $800 million if that area didn’t have the new arena.
While this would be huge for the state of Virginia, this would be a big blow to the city of DC. Chinatown had seen a huge development with Capital One Arena that reached it’s peak in about the mid 2000s.
Traffic to Alexandria won’t be easy but having a metro by the arena as well as a walkway to it will make it easier. Driving certainly sounds like nightmare especially if coming there from D.C. or Maryland.
Must Read. Capitals move to Alexandria a possibility. light
It’ll be interesting to see what Leonsis says tomorrow. Could we be seeing the final days of Capitals games in downtown DC?