NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Adrian Wojnarowski, Senior NBA InsiderDec 12, 2023, 07:35 PM ET
CloseHost of The Woj Pod
Joined ESPN in 2017
Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, the CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, is preparing to move his NBA and NHL franchises to a proposed new arena complex and entertainment district in Northern Virginia, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
The plan, expected to be unveiled at a news conference with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday morning in Alexandria, would be for the two teams to move to a massive new development in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, sources said.
Virginia State lawmakers voted on Monday to approve the arena project in Northern Virginia, the Washington Post reported. A final vote of the state’s full general assembly is needed to pass the project that would create an 8,000-square foot campus site in Alexandria.
ABC7 in Virginia reported that the teams could break ground by 2025 and begin playing by 2028.
The Wizards and Capital have been playing in Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., since 1997 and will continue to do so until a proposed new arena complex could be constructed sometime in the coming years. Leonsis and D.C. officials had been discussing the city’s possible contributions to arena renovations — with Leonsis seeking $600 million in public monies. City officials have said they want to work with Leonsis to keep the teams in the Chinatown area of the city’s downtown.
Leonsis could exit the Capital One Arena lease in 2027.
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39100527/ted-leonsis-plans-move-wizards-capitals-virginia
Author : Adrian Wojnarowski
Publish date : 2023-12-13 00:48:30
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
