RICHMOND, Va. — A funding discussion in the Virginia Senate – or lack thereof – could have major implications for Monumental Sports' proposed move out of the District to Alexandria.
Virginia's Senate Finance Committee met Monday morning, but a piece of legislation that was expected to be a topic of discussion wasn't even on the docket. The legislation had proposed creating a sports authority that would issue more than a billion dollars in bonds to build a sports and entertainment district for the Washington Wizards and Capitals near the Potomac Yard Metro station. Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the teams' parent company, would have to repay the loan from the revenue it generates.
Tuesday was the deadline by which the bill needed to be heard and advanced to the full Senate if it had a future, but senators made it clear they weren't interested in moving forward.
Sen. Louise Lucas (D-District 18), the committee chairwoman, explained that the Finance Committee has concerns about using taxpayer money for the arena, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin's "refusal to negotiate."
"I will not allow a billionaire to build his company's wealth on a taxpayer's dime," Lucas said.
Lucas went as far as to say, in her mind, the bill is dead. However, legislation is still alive in the Virginia House of Delegates.
On Friday, the Virginia House Appropriations Committee voted 17-3 to advance a measure to relocate D.C.'s NHL and NBA teams to Virginia, a top priority for Youngkin, to the floor of the House of Delegates. Though the bill passed overwhelmingly, several senior Democratic legislators made it clear their support for the measure was in the interest of keeping negotiations going.
“This process is going to take the rest of our session at a minimum to enact or not enact this legislation,” Democratic Del. Mark Sickles, of Fairfax County, said before the committee vote, where he ultimately supported the bill.
When asked if there was anything that could get her to change her mind, Sen. Lucas' answer was "probably not."
"Especially since the governor wants to put the full faith and credit of the commonwealth on this project, which is a completely total turn off for me," she said.
Several senators said Youngkin, who argues the project would bring billions of dollars in economic benefits and create 30,000 jobs for the commonwealth, has made several bad moves since his December announcement alongside Ted Leonsis, an ultrawealthy former AOL executive and the CEO of Monumental, that he had reached an understanding on a deal to relocate the Caps and Wizards. The bad moves cited include Youngkin pushing too quickly without proper analysis, and not considering what Democrats, the majority party, want passed.
"He's not really expressed an openness to discussing it and the speech he gave this weekend was highly partisan and it gave a lot of us a lot of concern whether he's truly serious about working with us or not," Sen. Scott Surovell (D-District 34), the majority leader, said.
Surovell was referring to a speech Youngkin made at Washington & Lee University’s Mock Convention over the weekend accusing Democrats of abandoning American values.
"Today's progressive Democratic party does not believe in, nor do they want a strong America," Youngkin said.
In a statement, the governor's spokesperson responded, saying, "The governor is confident at the end of the day that the General Assembly will come together because the project is good for the entire Commonwealth."
Virginia is the nation’s most populous state without a major pro-sports franchise, something government officials of both parties over the course of decades have sought to change. But reaction from Virginia residents has been mixed on whether or not the proposal would actually benefit their state.
"I don't know if we would agree that this is good for the Commonwealth," Alexandria resident Shannon Curtis said. "[There's] still a lot of ongoing concerns about traffic, quality of life, a lot of things that have not been considered, planned for [or] discussed."
On Monday, the House voted to adopt proposed substitutions and advance the bill for a third and final hearing slated for Tuesday. If the House version of the bill passes, it would make its way over to the Senate, where several key lawmakers have said they would vote it down, due to lack of confidence in Leonsis.
"If he's willing to renege on the lease on the folks in D.C., what's to say he wouldn't do that to us," Lucas asked. "I'm not willing to take those risks, not under my watch."
The House bill has a specific addition requiring the General Assembly to vote on it again next year to move it forward.
"In my opinion, it is critical we don’t rush to approve a project that would impact generations of Virginians without answers to important questions," Sen. Adam Ebbin, who represents Alexandria City, added.
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