As Virginia lawmakers deliberated his plan to relocate the teams from Washington, D.C., to Alexandria and construct a new arena for them, Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals, placed the blame squarely on politics, claiming he had become political “collateral damage”.
In a Friday interview with WTOP, Leonsis stated, “I’m glad I’m not a politician.” “It feels like politics took over, which really unnerved me.”
When Leonsis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin stood together and presented the arena concept late last year, Leonsis looked confident about it.
If we were to look back on that, what would Leonsis have done differently?
Leonsis, the CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, stated, “That’s not how I operate, having regrets and things like that.” “I’m Ongoing communication with Bowser Despite Leonsis’s public declarations that he wanted to see the Capitals and Wizards relocate from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and he had a cordial exchange of ideas throughout the process, according to Leonsis. He even mentioned that they happened to cross paths at a mid-January conference.
“I was like, ‘Oh, hey, how’s it going?'” Leonsis recalled. “We both hugged, and she sent me a text the next day saying ‘It was great to see you, let’s keep the lines of communications open.” “I said ‘Awesome,’ and it took off from there. It was a natural thing.” Bowser and Leonsis signed a letter of intent on Wednesday, coming to an agreement on $515 million.
The agreement maintains the teams in the District until 2050.
Leonsis explained, “I made this pivot because she was recruiting us and doing all of the right things.” “I assumed Virginia would treat us in that manner.”
The 200,000 square foot expansion of the Capitol One Arena complex into the neighboring Gallery Place area, the establishment of an entertainment district in the Chinatown neighborhood, and improvements to safety and transit are all part of the new D.C. project.
Next week, the D.C. Council will consider the agreement and is anticipated to approve it.
“We have some work to do on some of the surrounding streets, and we have the opportunity to build a little bit higher on our building.”
