Ted's DL Team Plans and New Practice Facility.

[hands11]

Plans are already in the works..

He expects to know by the end of the summer where the practice facility with seat will get built.

“I’m hoping by the end of the offseason to make an announcement that says this is the place that we’re going to build it and how long it will take,” Leonsis said Monday at Verizon Center

2015/05/26

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/wp/2015/05/26/ted-leonsis-hopes-to-have-wizards-practice-facility-location-chosen-by-end-of-offseason/

“First priority for us is to get a Wizards practice facility,” Leonsis said. “So I’m still working that one hard and then if we can find a good place and build that, that would be a good place for the D-League team to play. So that’s the steps we’re taking.”

Leonsis explained he wants the facility to have seating for the public so a D-League team could play its games at the building like the Los Angeles Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the D-Fenders, which plays at the Lakers’ facility – the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, Calif. Leonsis said sharing the same building would allow the D-League affiliate to work more directly with the Wizards’ staff, but he also indicated the D-League team could play in a smaller nearby market.

The Charlotte Hornets were the latest NBA franchise to announce it will launch its own D-League affiliate last month. The team is slated to begin play during the 2016-17 in a location to be determined.

“I don’t see it as a business,” Leonsis said of a D-League franchise. “I see it more as a developmental tool.”

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So if they announce the location at the end of the summer, how long does it take to build something like that .. 1 yr

The 137,000-square-foot Kettler facility cost $42.8 million... That's close to what we paid Dray to leave.

http://www.kettlercapitalsiceplex.com/page/show/860725-about-us

Ahh... So it does take about 1 yr. I guessed right.

Construction for the facility began March 2005. The facility opened in November 2006.
http://www.arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com/real-estate-development/major-projects/kettler-capitals-iceplex/

But wait...

"The basketball facility, Leonsis said, would be built 18 to 24 months after the site is determined and would house both the Wizards and Mystics. It could then potentially host a D-League team in the future."

So there it is.. We should have our own DL team in 2-3 years.