Winners and Losers from Va. rejecting the Wizards’ & Capitals’ planned arena

We take a look at the politicians, business owners and teams involved in the move.

Earlier this week, the Virginia General Assembly passed its budget. It helps fund state services like transportation, the Department of Education, and tax allocations. However, it also omitted funding for a new arena in Alexandria, Va. which would have been the new home of the Washington Wizards and Capitals.

Va. Governor Glenn Youngkin spoke where he expressed his anger and disappointment that the deal didn’t go through. Meanwhile, Va. State Sen. L. Louise Lucas has become a social media hero to those who are against the project. She serves as the Senate’s chairwoman for finance and appropriations. Lucas prevented a hearing that could have passed the project, given that the House of Delegates supported it. Whether you support the arena or not, you must respect that this photo is about as great of a real-world trolling as it gets.

I want to stress this point before moving onto the winners and losers from the setback.

The idea of the Wizards and Capitals moving is NOT dead. However, it is in a precarious situation now.

As stated last Wednesday, Youngkin can call a special session of the General Assembly or add amendments to the budget. I’m not sure if this new legislation can go around Lucas and a committee, but having specific laws regarding a stadium authority would put every state legislator on record whether they support the arena.

Also, here is what Monumental Sports had to say, according to an X post by Tom Sherwood of the Washington City Paper.

Let’s now look at the winners and losers from the setback.

The Winners

Photo by Minh Connors for The Washington Post via Getty Images

• L. Louise Lucas: The Virginia state senator who runs the Finance and Appropriations Committee wouldn’t allow any budget proposals with the Alexandria arena get a hearing. It doesn’t matter if most of the House of Delegates supports it. Hell, it doesn’t matter if every other member of the Va. Senate supports it. If she doesn’t support it because a Northern Virginia project doesn’t do anything for Hampton Roads, her home region, or for any other reason, she may not hold a hearing, which is what Lucas did. Given the legislative process, that also means the arena doesn’t get funded in the original budget, end of story. To those against this arena, she will be considered a hero if and when the project is officially dead. Could we even see a Lucas High School in D.C. or the Entertainment and Sports Arena bearing her name? Okay, I’ll stop while I’m ahead.
• Wizards and Capitals fans who live in D.C. and the Maryland suburbs: Indeed, Potomac Yard is just 4.5 miles away from Chinatown. But those 4.5 miles would have added to an already nasty commute from places north of Chinatown and really, anywhere north of the Potomac River. Now, it’s more likely that they won’t have to make such a move.
• The Prince George’s County, Md. government: The Wizards and Capitals played in Landover from 1973-1997. The county already hosts the Washington Commanders and did try to bring the teams back in “Project Potter.” If Monumental Sports still wants that campus and wants to avoid Lucas, I’d imagine that PG may be the better option. Also, if the Wizards and Capitals stay in D.C., PG will be in a better negotiating position with the Commanders, who are looking for a new stadium.
• NIMBYs in Alexandria and Crystal City (or do I have to call it National Landing now?): There are some residents in northeast Alexandria City who didn’t want the now-Washington Commanders to move to Potomac Yard in the 1990s. They succeeded. They didn’t want the Wizards and Capitals, and the momentum is on their side that they will succeed there too. Crystal City borders Potomac Yard, though it’s in Arlington County, and residents there who are against Monumental’s vision are certainly pleased about this, too.
• The D.C. Government (Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Council): The chances of the Wizards and Capitals staying at Capital One Arena are a lot higher. They offered $500 million to Monumental for Capital One Arena renovations. But now, if this project fails, the D.C. government COULD offer less money on an arena that was renovated just five years ago, though Bowser has previously said that the offer would stand.
• Chinatown businesses: Restaurants and other establishments won’t worry as much about losing business if and when the Alexandria arena project dies. While Lucas may be the biggest social media winner, the business owners near Capital One Arena stand to win the most by staying in business, keeping former Wizards and Capitals owner Abe Pollin’s vision of a vibrant downtown alive.

The Losers

• Glenn Youngkin: Before last November, Youngkin was a dark horse candidate-who-wasn’t-a-candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination in the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. But the Democrats won majorities in the General Assembly’s houses. The arena is an economic project that has major bipartisan support. However, Youngkin said some partisan comments which pissed off stakeholders like Lucas. And earlier this week, he endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in a state that isn’t particularly fond of him. Youngkin, to this point, has remained a relatively popular governor, but the potential failure of this project will likely end any future national political ambitions he may have, like running for president.
• Ted Leonsis: The Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO envisioned a campus with an arena, TV studios, and more. Now, this project isn’t dead yet, but it’s more likely that it will never happen. Either way, the process will hurt his legacy, which has been relatively good to this point, especially for the Mystics and Capitals due to their past championship success. Finally, if the Va. project fails, it’s not a good look when Leonsis reportedly didn’t lobby Lucas about it until this week.

• The Mystics: Washington’s WNBA team plays in the second smallest arena in their league and stood to gain from the Alexandria arena opening with a return to Capital One Arena. Many, if not most, Mystics fans were against the move to the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the mid-2010s and want the team back at Capital One Arena. With this project possibly going under, the Mystics appear to be stuck at ESA and could find a harder time getting free agents in the long term as the WNBA grows. Can Monumental move the Mystics to EagleBank Arena in Fairfax (which Monumental operates) or Xfinity Center in College Park without alienating most of their fans? Or … wait for it … could the Mystics be sold to a new owner who relocates them?
• Virginia getting any NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL team in the future: The Richmond and Hampton Roads regions are Virginia’s other major metropolitan areas. They aren’t as big as the D.C. area, but they could still theoretically support an NBA or NHL team of their own. Hampton Roads was a possible market for the NBA in 2012 when the Sacramento Kings were possibly relocating. If Va. legislators don’t want Monumental, esp. Lucas, who isn’t from the DMV, don’t be surprised to see Northern Va. legislators be against the idea of an NBA, NHL, MLB or NFL team that wants to move to Richmond or Hampton Roads in the future.
• The Commanders: Josh Harris (who coincidentally is an NBA and NHL team owner like Leonsis) now owns the DMV’s NFL team where his group is pondering over whether to move to a new stadium. D.C. was wooing his team to come back from Landover, Md., but because of the last few months, Monumental is more likely to take some money that could have otherwise gone to the Commanders. If Va. rejects the Wizards and Capitals, they almost definitely do not want the Commanders’ stadium there, even if they are headquartered in Loudoun County. So, perhaps Harris will have to keep the NFL team where they are indefinitely.