‘It’s Not Done’: Bowser Still Pushing To Keep Teams In D.C. But Voices Disappointment

“We’re in this, because it’s not done.”

That was the message from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser following Wednesday morning's news that Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis is planning to move the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Northern Virginia.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Bowser said her administration is still pushing its “best, final offer” to provide $500M over three years to revamp Capital One Arena in downtown D.C. Leonsis had reportedly requested $600M from the city for an $800M renovation.

“Monumental could have their dollars from the District as early as the spring,” Bowser said, adding some doubt about the financing behind the public-private partnership unveiled to much fanfare at a press conference in Virginia Wednesday morning. 

“I'm not sure from what I heard this morning what the Virginia process is, but we expect that it will hit some snags,” she said at the John A. Wilson Building. 

Bowser was joined by local leaders — including former Mayor Tony Williams, acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Nina Albert and council members — just a few hours after Leonsis announced his intent to move the teams to a planned $2B entertainment district in Alexandria's Potomac Yard, part of the National Landing area. 

“We are very committed that the Washington, D.C., team should play in Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said at the press conference. “‘The National Landing Wizards’ doesn't quite have the same ring.” 

Leonsis, speaking Wednesday morning at the Alexandria development site, said that while he plans to move the teams to Northern Virginia, he wanted to make it clear that Monumental owns Capital One Arena and is invested in keeping the downtown D.C. building alive for concerts, comedy shows and college sports.

Bowser said the city is also invested in the arena, with or without the pro sports teams, but the proposed $500M to upgrade it is contingent on extending Monumental's deal that includes the NBA and NHL teams. 

The mayor also unveiled a new task force Wednesday to take on challenges in the neighborhood immediately surrounding Capital One Arena, led by two local commercial real estate veterans: Edens CEO Jodie McLean and Deborah Ratner Salzberg, who led Forest City Washington before it was purchased by Brookfield.

The duo has had a massive impact on the District's development over the last two decades, with McLean spearheading the Union Market District and Ratner Salzberg building the first several phases of The Yards. 

“We've got a strategy,” Albert told Bisnow following the event. “Right now, we're really focused on continuing to move forward with the legislation, the proposal that we have. And we're also working on a Plan B.” 

She said DMPED will work closely with the new “massively important” task force, which will have “really strong leadership.”

Bowser addressed the concerns that businesses and real estate leaders have raised about public safety in the neighborhood around Capital One Arena, saying she has seen crime rise and fall during her time in local government and that she expects this period will be looked back on as a “blip.”

Over the last two years, total crime in the 1,000-foot radius immediately surrounding the arena was 30% higher than the prior two-year period, according to the Metropolitan Police Department's crime database. The neighborhood has had a steady stream of retail and restaurant closings.

“I’ve presided over crime increases in the time that I've been a city council member and mayor,” Bowser said. “And when we work together to have the right policies and enforcement in place, we drive crime down, and we will drive it down again.” 

When asked if the issue of crime could have been a factor in Monumental's decision to bring the teams to Virginia, Bowser said the team executives expressed to her that they agreed it wouldn't be a longstanding issue. 

She said that although her administration had engaged in “good faith efforts” with the franchise owner over the past several months, proposing a range of offers, in the end, Monumental didn’t seem to be interested in taking on any debt to renovate the arena. 

“They weren't interested in borrowing, as it turned out,” she said. “It didn't start that way. But I think that's how it turned out.”

Still, Bowser said the council would move on an expedited timeline to approve the funds and that a hearing could happen early next year, with a vote held as soon as February.

A key committee of Virginia lawmakers Monday evening voted in support of the state's incentive plan to lure the teams to Alexandria, but the General Assembly still needs to give its stamp of approval. 

“We know that D.C. fans and D.C. residents are loyal, and they are disappointed today,” Bowser said. “And they are disappointed with Monumental’s decisions, or as appears to be their decisions — as am I.”