Capitals, Wizards to remain at Capital One Arena as Potomac Yard proposal falls through

Josh Robbins, David Aldridge and Ben Standig

WASHINGTON — The Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals will remain at Capital One Arena through at least 2050 if, as expected, an agreement between Ted Leonsis and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser passes the D.C. Council.

Leonsis, the principal owner of the teams, signed a letter of intent late Wednesday afternoon formalizing an agreement between his parent company, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, and the city.

Leonsis called Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the mayor of Alexandria, Va., Justin M. Wilson, early Wednesday afternoon to inform them he had reached an agreement with Bowser, ending Monumental’s attempt to move the Wizards and Capitals to a large, undeveloped site in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard. The proposed move to Alexandria, which was announced in mid-December, met a significant roadblock in the Virginia Senate, where key lawmaker L. Louise Lucas, the chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, opposed the deal.

“We made tons of mistakes,” Leonsis said Wednesday night when asked whether Monumental had made errors since the December announcement about Potomac Yard. “But we manage to outcomes, and the outcome is exactly the right one.”

Bowser said: “We are the current home, and the future home, of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.”

The agreement between Leonsis and Bowser includes provisions for:

Monumental to receive $500 million in cash from the city to renovate Capital One Arena, which opened in 1997.
$15 million more to improve the alley that connects the arena to the Gallery Place building next door.
The addition of 200,000 square feet of space in the arena and the Gallery Place building.
Safety improvements, including the presence of 17 Washington police officers to patrol the arena area from two hours before game time to two hours after game time.
Monumental gaining full control of the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southeast Washington, enabling Monumental to enlarge player spaces and make changes to the arena’s schedule. The WNBA’s Washington Mystics and G League’s Capital City Go-Go will continue to play at the arena, but Monumental will have the ability to move four games per regular season and all playoff games to Capital One Arena.
New restrictions on noise, loitering and vending around Capital One Arena.

Monumental officials also said they will build a new practice facility for the Wizards. Potential sites for the new practice facility include the top floors of Gallery Place, the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center in Northwest Washington and the RFK Stadium site.

Wilson preempted Leonsis’ and Bowser’s announcement by issuing a video statement Wednesday afternoon on X.

“We are disappointed that this proposal was not able to be thoughtfully considered on its merits by legislators, stakeholders and ultimately now by our community and instead got caught up in partisan warfare in Richmond,” Wilson said.

Youngkin issued a statement, saying: “Virginians deserve better. A one-of-a-kind project bringing world-class athletes and entertainment, creating 30,000 jobs and $12 billion in economic activity just went up in smoke. This transformational project would have driven investment to every corner of the Commonwealth.

“This should have been our deal and our opportunity, all the General Assembly had to do was say: ‘Thank you, Monumental, for wanting to come to Virginia and create $12 billion of economic investment, let’s work it out.’ But no, personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no upfront general fund money and no tax increases, that created tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue for Virginia.”

Leonsis faced significant blowback from fans and the media after the initial plan to relocate to Northern Virginia was announced. In a brief interview with The Athletic on Wednesday night, Leonsis said he had been surprised by that criticism of potentially moving the Capitals and Wizards the 3 1/2 miles from Capital One Arena to Potomac Yard. He said he considers the District, suburban Maryland and suburban Virginia “one community” and noted that the Capitals and Wizards used to play in Landover, Md., at Capital Centre before the teams moved to downtown Washington.

Instead, he discovered that a large share of residents of the District, Virginia and Maryland consider those areas different entities.

“For me, my angst was I misread something,” Leonsis told The Athletic. “There’s something in the air that I don’t understand. I usually have a good feel for sentiment, and I really didn’t get it. And I still don’t get it. But now it’s not an issue, right? I’m here (keeping the teams at Capital One Arena). People should be really happy. I’m happy. So, I think that we’ll invest here.”

He added: “What I’m most relieved (about) is I don’t want to spend any more time with politicians and on venues. I want to spend it on the rebuild with the Wizards; we’re going to have a high pick. The Caps might surprise people and make the playoffs.”

What does this mean for the Commanders?

The headlines are about D.C. keeping its NBA and NHL teams. However, the significant arena investment may have significantly limited the city’s chances of adding the local NFL team while increasing Maryland’s chances of keeping the Washington Commanders.

“We’re certainly watching (the Monumental Sports negotiations) and looking at it and learning from it,” Commanders managing partner Josh Harris said Tuesday at the annual NFL league meetings. “But there’s not a lot we can do to affect that process, so we’re a little bit removed from it, but clearly, what happens there could have implications (for the Commanders).”

The Commanders ownership group, led by Harris, has been public about wanting to replace the current and aged building that’s been home to the Washington franchise since 1997. Such talks began under the prior ownership with the 190-acre RFK Stadium site, roughly two miles from Capitol Hill, the nostalgic dream. The Washington Redskins played at RFK from 1961 through the 1996 season, winning three Super Bowls in five appearances over that time.

Wooed by all three local jurisdictions since his group purchased the franchise last July, Harris has options. The area native (Harris grew up in the Maryland suburbs during that championship era) also couldn’t simply wish to return to D.C. — though Bower has aggressively pushed exactly that — because of the industry that defines the nation’s capital: Politics.

Initially, that meant the federal government, which owns and maintains control over the usage of the RFK land. “D.C. is not a real option until Congress gives control of the land,” team president Jason Wright said in 2022.

Also, some members of the city council opposed the needed funding. While Congress recently approved a bill to give city officials control of the property, it’s unclear if those D.C. government officials would now approve spending on sports buildings after the $515 million deal with Monumental Sports.

“We’re in deep discussion with Maryland,” Harris said before Wednesday, “but at the same time, we’re continuing to pursue the possibility of having a site at RFK, and that process is a political process.” There’s also a financial component.

“Of course. I mean, obviously, we’re super focused on that, but Ted and Monumental Sports are doing what they think is the right thing for their franchise,” Harris said. “We’re certainly watching it and looking at it and learning from it. But there’s not a lot we can do to affect that process, so we’re a little bit removed from it, but clearly what happens there could have implications. So, we’re following it, and we wish them well.” — Ben Standig, Commanders staff writer

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(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)