Caps and Wizards have preliminary talks about new arena in Virginia
WASHINGTON - The owners of D.C.’s beloved sports teams, the Wizards and the Caps, have had preliminary discussions about moving their operations out of D.C. and into Virginia, according to The Washington Post.
Both teams are owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a D.C.-based sports company led by CEO Ted Leonsis.
Currently, the Caps and the Wizards play in Capital One Arena, where they have for the past 25 years. Before finding their home in D.C., both franchises played at Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Capital Centre was built in 1973 by Bullets owner, Abe Pollin, and demolished in 2002.
The ’78 Bullets won two pivotal games there to clinch a 7-game series and bring home their first NBA Championship at the arena before moving to the MCI Center in 1997, which is now Capital One Arena, in D.C.
The discussions, according to The Post, are still in the beginning stages, so there are not yet any plans for where or when the move might take place. When questioned further, a spokesperson for Monumental Sports spoke only about their plans to invest in D.C.
"We are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the arena this year and will continue to invest to build a best-in-class operation for the next 25 years ... In the coming year, we plan to invest an additional $80+ million in building out new office space ... state-of-the-art broadcast studios ... and upgrading the arena's infrastructure."
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Fans and D.C. natives have mixed reactions toward the switch. Some want to hold on to the stadium for the legacy it’s built.
"Chinatown is so perfect. It's literally in the middle of everything. You can take all the metros there, and they've built out so much based around that stadium," one fan told FOX 5 Monday.
Others are not as opposed to the news.
"We’d pay a whole lot of money for a bunch of losers," one person told FOX 5 near the Capital One Arena.
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There is an overall concern, however, about D.C. losing its two biggest sports teams.
The news of this potential move comes as Virginia continues its ongoing campaign to recruit new business and economic hubs into its Commonwealth. Recently, they became home to Amazon’s HQ2, the largest data center market in the country. With Virginia also in talks to receive the new FBI headquarters, the adoption of the Wizards and the Caps is just the latest in a list of moves potentially adding to Virginia’s economic growth.