Virginia Legislators Block Plans for $2 Billion Arena

Lawmakers in Virginia on Thursday announced the state's budget for 2024 will not include funding for a new sports arena that would move the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Alexandria.

GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the teams' owner Ted Leonsis had planned to build a new arena using about $1.5 billion in funds from public bonds and about $400 million from the company owned by Leonsis, Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Youngkin maintained the project would add up to 30,000 jobs and billions in tax revenue, but state legislators were unconvinced and some pointed to a report from the District of Columbia's Office of the Budget Director that estimated the true cost of the stadium would be around $5.5 billion.

"They've twisted my arm, they've bent my ears, and I still told them, 'No,'" Democrat Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair L. Louise Lucas told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

"The longer the public and independent analysts get to consider the evidence presented about the proposed arena deal, the worse it looks for the commonwealth," according to The Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard, a citizens group that opposes the plans for construction, in a letter to the state budget committee earlier this week.

"The consensus of decades of economic analyses," the letter continued, "shows that publicly funded stadiums and arenas do not produce the economic development benefits their promoters repeatedly claim."

Youngkin could still attempt to obtain funding for the stadium through a separate bill or a budget amendment, The Washington Times reported, but he has not yet announced plans to do so. A spokesperson for Youngkin, when contacted for comment, said the governor would address the state budget later Thursday.

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