The proposal would have possibly allowed the arena to be funded without state money.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s vision of an Alexandria, Va. arena and campus is looking more like a pipe dream with each passing day. After the arena was left out of the state budget, it was expected that Va. Governor Glenn Youngkin would try to revive the project through amendments.
There is one amendment that Youngkin and Monumental Sports & Entertainment do not support. At least for now.
According to Laura Vozzela and Teo Armus of The Washington Post, they rejected a proposal to a package deal where arena funding would be tied to a proposed casino in Tysons Corner, an unincorporated area in Northeastern Fairfax County. Tysons Corner is best known for its shopping malls, and being home of the headquarters of Capital One, Tegna, Gannett, Hilton and Booz Allen Hamilton, among others.
The arena-casino package deal would work where the state would back the construction costs of the Tysons casino while revenue from that casino would back the Potomac Yard arena construction costs. It would be a way to go around Va. State Sen. L. Louise Lycas’ one woman blockade against the previous arena package.
Lucas has been considered an ally to the gambling industry in Va., according to Vozzela’s and Armus’ article.
Ultimately, Monumental rejected this possibility, and weren’t aware of the legislators who were interested in this. Also, the idea of a Fairfax County casino isn’t popular among local residents.
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