A proposal that would’ve brought two professional sports franchises to a new arena in northern Virginia is officially dead.
The city of Alexandria has officially ended negotiations to bring the project there.
House Speaker Don Scott tells the Associated Press that the owner of Monumental Sports – which holds majority stakes in the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals – is no longer considering moving those franchises from the D.C. area.
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson talked about the decision in a pre-recorded video Wednesday.
“We are disappointed that this proposal was not able to be thoughtfully considered on its merits by legislators, stakeholders and ultimately now by our community," Wilson said. "And instead, we got caught up in partisan warfare in Richmond.”
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin was one of the project’s biggest advocates, but he wasn’t able to get the Democratically-controlled General Assembly to back the arena deal.
In a statement, Youngkin says personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no upfront general fund money and no tax increases. Here's the entire statement from the governor:
"Virginians deserve better. A one-of-a-kind project bringing world-class athletes and entertainment, creating 30,000 jobs and $12 billion in economic activity just went up in smoke. This transformational project would have driven investment to every corner of the Commonwealth. This should have been our deal and our opportunity, all the General Assembly had to do was say: ‘thank you, Monumental, for wanting to come to Virginia and create $12 billion of economic investment, let’s work it out.’ But no, personal and political agendas drove away a deal with no upfront general fund money and no tax increases, that created tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in revenue for Virginia. I’d like to thank Ted Leonsis and the Monumental team, the City of Alexandria, JBG Smith and countless other partners for their professionalism, belief in Virginia and fortitude. Congratulations to Monumental for striking a great deal, I’m sorry you won’t be in Virginia."
Youngkin announced the deal with Monumental owner Ted Leonsis back in December, touting the project would create thousands of new jobs.
