NORFOLK, Va. — Senator Louise Lucas of Portsmouth dealt another blow to the proposed sports arena in Northern Virginia, and Governor Glenn Youngkin calls it a "colossal mistake."
Despite attempts to negotiate, Lucas said she is not yielding in her staunch opposition to the project.
Youngkin has pushed for months to solidify a deal to move the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals to a new sports arena in Alexandria.
Lucas has said she’s not approving that arena before the state delivers on toll relief.
She blocked two standalone bills for the project in her role as the Chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. Then, according to multiple WUSA sources, Youngkin offered Lucas $322 million in toll relief for Hampton Roads in exchange for her support, but that didn't seem to sway Lucas.
Lucas kept her vow and the arena was blocked from the General Assembly’s budget proposal—something Lucas told reporters she feels fantastic about.
"When you feel strongly enough about something, you know you have to make some sacrifices. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get everything I wanted, because I wasn’t going to let him get what he needed, or wanted, whatever the case may be," she said.
That language in the budget was one of the last paths forward for the project.
"I believe that is, as I said earlier, a monumental mistake for the Commonwealth," said Youngkin.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Lucas watched from the capitol steps as the Republican governor touted the project, saying the deal would bring 30,000 jobs and $12 billion in revenue for the state.
Youngkin emphasized the project required no upfront cash, no impact on the state's AAA credit rating, and no new taxes.
"They also cast away the revenue from this project that would reach every corner of the Commonwealth—toll relief again for Hampton Roads," said Youngkin.
He said he believes if the arena had made it to the floor for a vote, there would have been bipartisan support. Though he never mentioned Lucas by name, he did say this:
"There is a broad bipartisan group of House leadership and Senate leadership that want to move forward. They’re running into a single roadblock."
When asked what the next steps are, he said the ball is in the General Assembly’s court to pass what he calls the best deal he’s ever seen.
"It just befuddles me that we’re not spending today talking about how to deliver it and instead, I’m here trying to again convince our General Assembly to do what’s right."
Virginia Wesleyan University Political Science Professor Leslie Caughell said there are still possible paths forward. She said Youngkin could add an amendment to the budget, another standalone bill, or call a special legislative session.
"If there's more widespread discontent, that's gonna mean this really closes the door on what the Governor can do," said Caughell. "I suspect Democratic support got a little squishier when labor came out against it. It's not clear the City of Alexandria or the council members are happy with the arena project."
Caughell said a budget amendment is not something Lucas could block on her own, but would need the majority of Democrats to support it.
"Both chambers would have to support it," she said. "It's not like a standalone bill in that she is a gatekeeper in whether or not it's heard."