DC Council to vote on $500M for Capital One Arena renovations
Mayor Muriel Bowser, Monumental Sports annouce deal to keep Wizards, Caps in DC
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis announced that the Wizards and Capitals will stay in DC until 2050. The District will invest $515 million over three years to modernize the arena and Leonsis will sign a lease keeping teams in DC for 25 more years. Jordan Goldstein, co-CEO of Gensler and member of the D.C. Economic Club joins On The Hill to discuss the deal.
WASHINGTON - Emergency legislation to unlock more than a half-billion dollars in refurbishments to Capital One Arena will be introduced to the D.C. Council tomorrow, according to D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson.
The Chinatown Revitalization Act is only four lines long, focusing on a complete renovation of the arena and improvements to the Chinatown and Gallery Place neighborhood.
"We want the teams to stay here and we’ve put $500 million on the table so folks who’ve commented knew it’s about both the teams staying and putting 500 million dollars on the table," said Mendelson.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told FOX 5 this morning that over the three months the Potomac Yard arena proposal was being debated, she kept the lines of communication open with Monumental Sports and kept the $515 million offer on the table in case the proposal fell through, which it did last week.
The goal, she says, was to let Virginia politics play out and keep a "pathway" open for Monumental to return home.
At the same time, passing the Secure D.C. Crime Bill has already made a difference in public safety in and around Chinatown, Bowser told FOX 5.
"We recognized some pretty disturbing crime trends, especially when it came to carjackings, and we see the benefits of that action, plus making the actions permanent with Secure D.C. is driving down crime in D.C.," said Bowser. "Violent crime is down, robbery and carjacking is down."
More details about the agreement with Monumental Sports are expected on Wednesday morning, when Bowser testifies before the D.C. Council to present the budget for fiscal year 2025.