Monumental (Wizards/Caps) NOT LEAVING DC! Capital One Arena 2.0 Unveiled by Ted Leonsis, Muriel Bowser, & Adam Silver

[FAH1223]

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[Endless Loop]

That $500 million bill that Bowser is just now proposing? Pure butt covering. They did it after they already knew they'd lost, and they did it just make Ted look bad and themselves look better than the fools they were to let this get away.

Just FWIW, myself, I'd have liked it a lot better if they'd stayed in the District. But I suppose that if I'm still a fan after 40 years in the wilderness, driving a little further to Alexandria is no big deal.

Big, big mistake by Bowser.

[FAH1223]

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[long suffrin' boulez fan]

Let's hope the Dems step up and tell the Guvna to stuff it.

And Leonsis is quickly becoming the slimiest person in all of sports. Abe is rolling in his grave.

[Tyrone Messby]

Dems

yeah…a lot of good they’ve done D.C. Bowser is doing her best to run that city into the ground. Both her and Leonsis are terrible though.

[FAH1223]

Dems

yeah…a lot of good they’ve done D.C. Bowser is doing her best to run that city into the ground. Both her and Leonsis are terrible though.

He’s talking about the Dems who control the VA House and VA Senate.

Oh and this makes sense with what Leonsis is aiming for.

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The Warriors proved you can make even more money by owning and/or controlling the real estate in and around the arena. This is the future where owners not just want the own the facilities, but to create entertainment/retail areas to make money even when they are no games on.

Ted is obsessed with sports betting and gaming.

Joe Lacob and the Warriors privately financed Chase Center though. Same as Steve Balmer is doing with the Clippers.

And yet Abe Polin in 1995 put $200M of his own money to build MCI Center when crime in DC was worse than it is right now!!

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[Tyrone Messby]

lol the mystics aren’t going to do anything to help downtown DC, Tracy is delusional.

[MikeTheKid]

So Bowser drops that BS Bill proposal last night to try and save face? Who’s the bigger Bozo here at this point cause I can’t stand both right now.

On one hand, it’s great for me because I live in Shirlington now so the commute would be easy but damn it’s gonna bottleneck traffic flow on Route 1 tremendously.


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[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Dems

yeah…a lot of good they’ve done D.C. Bowser is doing her best to run that city into the ground. Both her and Leonsis are terrible though.

He’s talking about the Dems who control the VA House and VA Senate.

Oh and this makes sense with what Leonsis is aiming for.

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The Warriors proved you can make even more money by owning and/or controlling the real estate in and around the arena. This is the future where owners not just want the own the facilities, but to create entertainment/retail areas to make money even when they are no games on.

Ted is obsessed with sports betting and gaming.

Joe Lacob and the Warriors privately financed Chase Center though. Same as Steve Balmer is doing with the Clippers.

And yet Abe Polin in 1995 put $200M of his own money to build MCI Center when crime in DC was worse than it is right now!!

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In what world do people think VA Dems owe anything or should help out Dems in DC in this situation? Are VA Dems looking out for MD Dems in the FBI headquarters relocation drama?

But anyways, I've lived substantial periods of my life both in NOVA and DC, and I have to say DC and Bowser made this much easier than it had to be. City is a disaster with crime right now, just dumb policies across the board, and they still think for some odd reason this would make them a premier destination or worth being a partner with. At some point, you have to pay for your policy decisions.

Also ignoring the fact that a large chunk of the fanbase is already in NOVA is kind of weird. Afterall, the area is colloquial called the DMV for a reason. The team in its history has also existed in Maryland for that matter too; why is so implausible that the team would relocate to super blue northern VA that is all of 7 miles from where the team currently resides?

This can be a reasonable move and Ted still being a Turd. They are not mutually exclusive truths.

[Dark Faze]

Both locations are hell to drive into so that point is moot, and both are metro accessible.

The problem with Potomac Yard is that you wouldn't get the impulse Wiz ticket purchases imo. Current location it's easy to say "let's spend a weekend in DC" and fit a Wiz game into your plans either as impulse or otherwise and be lured in by the other things to see and do.

Potomac Yard isn't necessarily that far from DC proper but going into Alexandria is not something I would ever have as part of my plans for a DC weekend. So personally I'd be surprised if this were a positive for attendance and the brand in general. NOVA is wealthier for sure, and the infrastructure and technology built around the arena and area would likely be superior than what DC can offer but I don't know that it's worth it.

[LyricalRico]

Is there enough room at Potomac Yards for a Commanders stadium too lol?

[WashWiz54]

As a Fairfax County guy who works in Springfield, this works great.

Also, if I pull the trigger on moving to Richmond, the Amtrak drops right into Alexandria so maybe other people from down that way would be willing to make the train ride up to watch the game over a weekend.

[BigA]

Is there enough room at Potomac Yards for a Commanders stadium too lol?

Remember in the early 90s Jack Kent Cooke had a deal with then-Gov Doug Wilder to build a stadium for the Redskins at Potomac Yard, almost the same location proposed for the Wizards/Caps arena. In that case, the VA legislature didn't like the deal and demanded concessions, plus residents were against it. This caused Cooke to back out.

Also, remember that there was a Northern Virginia group trying to bring the Expos/Nats to one of several locations in Arlington--the leading contender being the still-vacant block in Pentagon City where the next phase of Amazon HQ2 is supposed to be built (that phase has been delayed). When it became clear that residents didn't want the baseball stadium and Arlington County and the Commonwealth were not going to pony up the necessary subsidies, DC had a clear path to get the Nats.

We shouldn't discount the possibility that this deal might fall apart over local resistance and/or balking at big subsidies/incentives for MSE.

[Wizardspride]

Is there enough room at Potomac Yards for a Commanders stadium too lol?

The Commanders will be in D.C.

Fairly confident about that.

[HypeMode]

Can anyone here tell how this move wouldn't devastate the Wizards already weak fanbase. The team's attendance is in the tank and this move will destroy whatever fanbase the team has. IME, most Wizards fans are from DC or Maryland. Nova doesn't have much of a Wizards fanbase. Very few fans from DC or Maryland will brave the traffic nightmare this arena would become. Imagine going to a game on Thanksgiving week with nightmare DCA traffic along with 15K fans to a Basketball game. And the metro stop there is less convenient than Capitol One which is in the middle of the entire region. I bet it's easier driving from most parts of NoVA to the Capitol Arena than it would be to drive from say Fairfax to Potomac Yards.

I doubt this move will effect the Caps as much because their fans are in VA.

If the current Wizards team was playing in Potomac Yards now, I imagine the average attendance would be below 10K.

[MikeTheKid]

Is there enough room at Potomac Yards for a Commanders stadium too lol?

There's No way The Commanders are going to VA now if this gets approved. I don't think the State will pay for building both facilities. Its one or the other.

DC will go on an all-out blitz for the Commanders and foot a good portion of the bill for the old RFK location.

[gesa2]

Gonna really suck for me coming from the MD Eastern shore to games, though I only make 1 or 2 a year at this point anyways

[Kanyewest]

Is there enough room at Potomac Yards for a Commanders stadium too lol?

There's No way The Commanders are going to VA now if this gets approved. I don't think the State will pay for building both facilities. Its one or the other.

DC will go on an all-out blitz for the Commanders and foot a good portion of the bill for the old RFK location.

DC is desperate although Governor Wes Moore did just meet with Josh Harris earlier this month.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/02/wes-moore-commanders-stadium-maryland/

[FAH1223]

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[BigA]

This has some more details on the actual deal. At first glance, looks like a much better deal for VA than the original deal DC had with MLB for Nats Stadium, with more arena revenue going to pay off the bonds (including naming rights). Plus MSE is putting up $400 million for the buildings/facilities around the arena.

Also, the positive quotes in the article from the incoming (Dem) majority leader of the State Senate and the mayor of Alexandria indicate that Youngkin has secured the necessary broad political support.