(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) The Virginia House of Delegates on Friday printed an updated version of the bill establishing the Virginia Stadium Authority, which would own and finance construction of the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district.
While the Senate version of the bill is still in the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House version stipulates that a 15-member Virginia Stadium Authority board would be made up of:
- Five members appointed by the governor
- Two non-legislative members appointed by the House speaker
- Three members from the Senate Rules Committee
- Three members appointed by the Alexandria City Council
- One member representing Arlington
- One member representing Monumental Sports, the owner of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals
Alexandria City Council members were unanimously unhappy with the previous House version of the bill, which called for a nine-member Authority board, with six members appointed by the governor and three from Alexandria. The Council wants more city representation.
“We will continue to work through the legislative process to get legislation that works for Alexandria,” said Mayor Justin Wilson. “We have a ways to go before this goes to the governor’s desk.”
Additionally, the House bill also creates oversight of the Virginia Stadium Authority with a 14-member “The Sports and Entertainment Authority Oversight Commission.” The commission members include the Virginia House speaker, the president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate and 12 delegates on the Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission.
City Council Member Kirk McPike said that on one hand, the governor isn’t appointing a majority of the board anymore, which he said is a “step in the right direction.”
“But I still want to see more representation for the City,” McPike said. “Whatever bills make it to the other chamber at crossover (when they are considered by the other legislative body) will change significantly in the second half of the session, and the City will continue to work to ensure we have as strong a voice as possible on the potential stadium authority board.”
Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson agreed with her colleagues, and also agreed with Virginia President Pro tempore Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-18), who tweeted on Feb. 10 that the bill is not on the Senate Finance and Appropriations docket because it is “not ready for prime time.”
“I agree with Wilson and McPike,” Jackson said. “I also agree with Senator Lucas, who said ‘We have a ways to go.'”
City Council Member Canek Aguirre doesn’t like the proposed makeup of the stadium authority.
“Not a fan of the new makeup, but will continue to work with the General Assembly to get something that works for Alexandria,” Aguirre said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin visited the Potomac Yard Metro station yesterday (Thursday) to address plans for the transit system’s future, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
While Youngkin signaled he’s open to some additional support for Metro, Youngkin also pushed back against claims from leaders like State Sen. Adam Ebbin that Metro funding is “a prerequisite” to the Potomac Yard Metro arena.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch said Youngkin claimed that helping Metro close the $750 million operating deficit is ‘disconnected’ from the arena project.
The station has been the epicenter of many arguments about the new Potomac Yard arena planned to host the Washington Capitals and Wizards. Both Alexandria and Metro leaders said the station cannot support arena crowds — with a new report said wait times at the station could run well over an hour if no upgrades are made.
A transportation plan presented last week said a widened bridge, new escalators, and additional fare gates would be added to the station. Those upgrades are estimated to cost between $35 million and $70 million.
With those upgrades, the station could still crowd heavily for 30-45 minutes after events.
Youngkin also said he wants the transit system to do more to crack down on fare evasion, raise fares and reduce labor costs, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
While the Potomac Yard arena has faced a significant amount of scorn and public scrutiny, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce threw its support behind the arena.
In a release, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce — also called Chamber ALX — said the arena is a positive opportunity for the city.
“As long time supporters of development at Potomac Yard, The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce believes this project is the right choice for the site and will be a catalyst of economic growth in our city for years to come,” the organization said in a release.
The Chamber ALX praised the arena’s economic impact, saying the 30,000 jobs created by the project and 9 million square feet in development would be a boon.
The project has taken a lot of flack for the levels of traffic it would bring to the area, along with concerns about the city’s financial arrangement with Monumental Sports & Entertainment chairman and CEO Ted Leonsis.
Last week, the city showed plans to address concerns about traffic on Route 1 and the Potomac Yard Metro station. The current station, which regional leaders acknowledged cannot handle arena traffic, would see crowding for 60-90 minutes after events, a report said. If the previously announced upgrades manifest, that could go down to 30-45 minutes of crowding.
The full release from the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce is shared below:
In the coming months, Alexandrians have the opportunity to fundamentally shape the future of our city. The announcement of the opportunity for a world class entertainment district at Potomac Yard promises to achieve the goal of maximizing that site.
As long time supporters of development at Potomac Yard, The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce believes this project is the right choice for the site and will be a catalyst of economic growth in our city for years to come.
As noted on the project’s website, the economic and community impact would include 30,000 direct and indirect jobs, 9+ million square foot entertainment district, including new hotels, retail, residential, restaurants, conference, and community gathering spaces, and roughly 2.5 times the economic output of what would otherwise be built based on current development plans.
The Alexandria Chamber and its member businesses cannot ignore the practical impact of this type of investment in our city.
Further, Alexandria needs to attract innovative projects that expand our tax base. A commercial project such as this would broaden the tax base while allowing the city to maximize other sites around the city.
It is important to note the Potomac Yard site was always designed to accommodate 20,000 people per day; while this new vision shifts how those individuals show up it remains the right location for large scale development aligned with the Small Area Plan. In addition, there is language in the Master Plan that envisions an entertainment district as a preferred use for the site.
This monumental opportunity is a reminder to the Commonwealth and the region of what we have long known, our city is a great place to live, work and raise a family. We know there are many important conversations to be had, specifically around the impacts to quality of life, transportation, and underserved populations in our community, and we look forward to participating in those conversations. But the fact remains this project is a once in a generation opportunity that Alexandria should not let pass us by.
We call on the General Assembly to approve the adoption of a Sports and Entertainment Authority, with reasonable legislative oversight, so that Alexandria can get to work on investing in the future of our city.
The proposed Potomac Yard arena could hold up to 20,000 people and those attendees have to get to the arena somehow.
A presentation prepared by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), City of Alexandria and Monumental Sports & Entertainment provided a glimpse at plans to handle that traffic.
The presentation noted that 300 events are planned each year, 40 of which will coincide with weekday rush hour. Of those, 50% are expected to get there by driving or through rideshare, while 50% are expected to get there via transit, bike or walking.
The peak need, the presentation said, is handling 2,800 extra cars.
For car traffic, the presentation said the plan is to:
- Maximize Route 1 and Glebe Road throughput and efficiency
- Minimize traffic through local streets
- Create dedicated rideshare zones on and off-site
- Ensure parking is on-site and protect nearby neighborhoods
The 2,800 new peak car trips account for around 6% of weekday volume on the road. The presentation said improvements planned for Route 1 include:
- Expanded turning lanes to reduce backup
- Dedicated through lanes for commuters
- Dedicated turn lanes separating game day traffic from commuters and locals
- Coordinated signals at intersections to move arena traffic off Route 1 and into the site
- Dedicated parking on-site with queuing off Route 1
Meanwhile, the plan said satellite parking sites at the Huntington and Eisenhower Metro garages to the south and Crystal City or Pentagon City to the north will take some of the traffic, with attendees then taking Metro on that “last mile” to the arena.
The presentation said dedicated rideshare zones and queues are part of the plan for the site, similar to how that drop-off is separated at airports.
One of the biggest lingering questions has been how the Potomac Yard Metro Station — which General Manager Randy Clarke said cannot handle arena capacity — would hold up as one of the central pillars of the transportation plan.
The presentation outlined plans to add capacity to the station, with:
- A widened bridge
- Additional escalators
- Added fare gates to cut down on ‘pinch points’ at the station
Lastly, the plan said that eventually Water Taxi access could be added out in the Potomac River and a new Virginia Railway Express station could be built nearby to reduce the burden on the Metro station.
Various concerns have surfaced about the Potomac Yard arena development, but the recurring throughline has been concerns over transportation and traffic.
Tomorrow (Thursday) the City of Alexandria is holding a virtual listening session on transportation and traffic management concerns specifically.
The session is scheduled to run from 7-8 p.m. This is the third of four sessions hosted by the city.
The final one, on Thursday, Feb. 8, is focused on the impact on small businesses and economic opportunities.
The meeting comes after a town hall this past weekend that also saw protests outside the Charles Houston Recreation Center.
Since the announcement of the project, much of the criticism has focused on the area’s inability to handle traffic generated by an arena development.
Mayor Justin Wilson said the development would minimize parking to discourage car travel, but both Wilson and Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said the Metro station cannot handle arena traffic, with only one escalator and staircase on each platform.
At the town hall meeting, city leaders said more funding to WMATA is vital to the Potomac Yard project.
“It’s embarrassing that we have to sit here in front of you and talk about the lack of funding for the WMATA system,” said Council member Canek Aguirre. “How are we even going to put a proposal forward when there’s the potential for closing the station that supports this arena. If the WMATA funding doesn’t happen, this doesn’t work.”
“We cannot abandon Metro,” said Council member Sarah Bagley. “We must continue to do what my colleague and I and others are doing: impress on the General Assembly and the Governor that this is a vital piece of our network.”
A pop-up event to discuss the arena is also scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at the Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 West Reed Avenue) on Saturday, Feb. 3.
The ongoing public opinion war over the Potomac Yard arena continued this weekend with a public town hall at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street) on Saturday and a protest against it outside.
The two-hour town hall included a discussion of the economic impact of the new arena and public safety, but transportation continued to be the central piece of the Potomac Yard arena discourse.
As the fight continues in Alexandria over the Potomac Yard arena, City Council members said it’s part of a broader fight over securing more state funding for WMATA. State Sen. Adam Ebbin previously called Metro funding a ‘prerequisite‘ for the arena. Both Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson and Metro General Manager Randy Clarke acknowledged that the current Potomac Yard arena cannot handle arena traffic without significant upgrades.
“It’s embarrassing that we have to sit here in front of you and talk about the lack of funding for the WMATA system,” said Council member Canek Aguirre. “How are we even going to put a proposal forward when there’s the potential for closing the station that supports this arena. If the WMATA funding doesn’t happen, this doesn’t work.”
“We cannot abandon Metro,” said Council member Sarah Bagley. “We must continue to do what my colleague and I and others are doing: impress on the General Assembly and the Governor that this is a vital piece of our network.”
City Council members also argued that the arena will be a vital piece for economic development around Potomac Yard and the city at large.
City Council member John Chapman said that the city has been focusing on ‘catalysts’ to spark economic development in neighborhoods.
“That’s been the focus of the city: looking at catalyst projects in neighborhoods that can spark economic development so we do have other businesses, restaurants, other impacts that come to that area to take the pressure off our residential base,” said Chapman.
Aguirre said the projected revenues from the arena can help pay for things like more recreation centers and library expansion, but also acknowledged frustrations that the city and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) have refused to release the fully economic impact report — instead only releasing a summary of the report that includes very little hard figures and analysis.
“With this proposal, it is additional tax money to pay for the expansion of the library and another rec center and dollars for our schools,” Aguirre said. “This is one of the things I asked of staff too: we need to have tangible numbers, which we don’t have right now. I’m sorry, I apologize to the public for this.”
The project has also faced scrutiny for abandoning D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood, but Vice Mayor Amy Jackson said that’s not the city’s problem.
“We have the opportunity to have something really great here,” Jackson said. “It’s unfortunate that there’s a whole other level of deal-making that fell through on the D.C. side. Is that our problem? I would say no.”
Outside, Washingtonians and Alexandrians held a rally opposing the arena.
“A lot of us met the day of the announcement out there protesting,” said Adrien Lopez, part of the Coalition to Stop the Arena. “We heard about it and were shocked. We formed a coalition that has only grown stronger every day.”
Protestors criticized the project for its negative impact on D.C., the transportation woes, and as a financially unsound investment in Alexandria’s future. Former City Council candidate Boyd Walker said city leaders should put the arena on a referendum, as is being considered in Fairfax County for a casino in Tysons.
“City Council could very easily have a referendum and put it on the ballot, just like they did for the casino in Tysons,” Walker said. “This whole entertainment district could suck business from Old Town and Del Ray. There’s no economic model and they need to release the full study that citizen tax dollars paid for.”
Did you miss yesterday’s City Council Town Hall meeting?
If so, here’s the video of the Alexandria City Council answering two hours worth of questions from our community about the proposed Potomac Yard Entertainment District.
Check it out:https://t.co/aNcUuFOvVJ
— Justin Wilson (@justindotnet) January 28, 2024
Alexandria’s City Council is hosting a town hall tomorrow (Saturday) to discuss the new Potomac Yard arena, but some locals are planning to rally outside the event and protest.
The town hall is scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street).
“The town hall will include a short presentation on the project and Members of Council will respond to questions, concerns, and feedback submitted by the community,” the city website said.
The town hall is part of an ongoing public engagement process around the proposed arena.
A mostly Alexandria-based group called the Coalition to Stop the Arena will be protesting with a D.C.-based group called Don’t Mute DC outside of the town hall. At previous rallies, Coalition members said they had deep concerns about the lack of clear answers on transportation issues related to the arena.
“The transportation concerns are insurmountable,” said Shannon Curtis, a nearby resident and part of the Coalition. “Forcing people into public transit is laudable, but the reality is most people will drive here… It will create a traffic boondoggle.”
Monumental Sports owner Ted Leonsis said in an open letter that optimization of transportation to the site is being studied.
“Significant efforts are being made to study and optimize transportation options,” Leonsis said. “The Entertainment District will be in a vibrant and central location for our fans, accessible by Metro, car, with 2,500 underground parking spaces, dedicated rideshare drop off, water taxi, walking, running, and bike trail.”
Notably: Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said the Potomac Yard Metro station is not built to handle arena traffic and Mayor Justin Wilson acknowledged that the current station cannot accommodate that use. The water taxi has been repeatedly brought up as a possibility by advocates of the arena, despite the fact that Four Mile Run is only four feet deep and the arena is separated from the Potomac River by a Metro line, train tracks, the George Washington Parkway, and the Mount Vernon Trail.
Others said they were concerned about issues related to the city’s investment in the project — particularly if the arena isn’t profitable — and crime.
At a public forum last night about housing and other issues, City Manager Jim Parajon said the city is working on a “very strong public safety plan.”
“The way we operate is that we develop through an agreement a public safety and service plan intended to draw all of the necessary resources from around the region as part of secondary employment, particularly for the public safety apparatus,” Parajon said. “There is no impact to the ability for us to serve our community as fully as we plan to do without this project.”
Despite this, sources in the Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff’s Office told ALXnow they don’t think the city’s understaffed law enforcement have the resources to adequately police the proposed arena.
Officials planning the $2 billion arena at Potomac Yard say that there will be multiple ways to park around and access the site, from accessing parking garages in nearby Crystal City and at Metro stations, with fans getting carted around in shuttles running up and down Potomac Avenue.
Transportation issues were the most frequently mentioned in a roundtable discussion on Monday with local business owners and representatives at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray. The dozen or so business leaders otherwise expressed support for the project.
“The biggest thing I’m hearing from business owners and residents is the transportation and traffic needs,” Pork Barrel owner Bill Blackburn said. “That seems to be the overriding concern for folks.”
Working hand-in-hand, officials from Monumental Sports and site owner JBG Smith said that data from a transportation impact study will be released in weeks, not months. The 70-acre development is sandwiched between Richmond Highway to the west and the George Washington Memorial Parkway to the east. It is also next door to the brand new Potomac Yard Metro station, which will have to be upgraded to accommodate arena-size traffic.
“We have to make sure that the transportation plan that comes out of this works to make sure that your business is continuing to thrive, whether they’re in Del Ray, or Old Town, or at the arena district or in Crystal City, we want to make sure that everyone sort of understands how this is going to impact them and get all the data,” said Evan Regan-Levine, executive vice president at JBG Smith.
The meeting followed news that an authority to finance the deal was introduced into the Virginia General Assembly on Friday, and that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration outlined $200 million for transportation improvements for the area. Mayor Justin Wilson said last month that the entertainment district will have minimal parking to discourage visitors from driving to the area.
“Who wouldn’t want some of the best athletes in the world visiting Alexandria and eating at my restaurant?” said Jamond Quander, owner of 1799 Prime Steak & Seafood in Old Town. “I think Alexandria is enough of a destination, is well known enough, that events at the new arena won’t hurt, but only improve my business. The question is how are they going to handle the transportation impact?”
Regan-Levine said that there are going to be multiple ways to access the proposed entertainment district.
“Look, there are a lot of different ways you’re gonna be able to access this,” he said. “And some of that might mean parking at something off-site. So, do I park at a Metro garage that’s not used at night and take the Metro a couple of stops in, and whether that’s Eisenhower or Huntington (stations), or also even in National Landing in Crystal City… The idea would be let’s open up and let’s run some shuttle buses down Potomac Avenue so we take some of those cars off the local grid.”
Jordan Silberman, Monumental’s executive vice president and general manager, said that solving the transportation issue is the most important piece in this puzzle.
“We want to make sure that as we invite everybody into, into our building (the arena), that people in the neighborhood feel good about it,” Silberman said. “It’s gonna make sure that we’re enforcing parking across Route 1 and the Mount Vernon neighborhood and Del Rey and making sure that people are not parking here and walking across the street into the neighborhood and affecting people’s lives.”
Monumental Sports wants the first phase of the project to be completed in 2029. According to Monumental:
The proposed sports and entertainment district in Potomac Yard would stimulate growth and job creation in the region through a new campus featuring the global corporate headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, an industry-leading arena for both the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, a state-of-the-art Monumental Sports Network media studio, a Wizards practice facility, a performing arts venue, and an expanded esports facility, in addition to new retail, restaurants, hotels, housing and community gathering spaces.
Alexandria will conduct a virtual public meeting on transportation and traffic management on Feb. 1.
Alexandria doesn’t have the resources to adequately cover the public safety aspect of the proposed Potomac Yard arena and entertainment district, sources in the Alexandria Police Department and Sheriff’s Office told ALXnow.
The city currently does not have the resources to cover the addition of the arena and entertainment district at Potomac Yard. The Alexandria Police Department has just over 300 officers, the Sheriff’s Office has around 165 deputies and the Fire Department has about 300 fire and rescue personnel.
The city is developing a “public safety and event services plan” to support large events while maintaining service for the rest of the city.
“The project team, which includes multiple city agencies, is developing a public safety and event services plan for the proposed entertainment district that will include deployment of City and regional resources to support the public during events in this area while maintaining full services for the rest of the City,” Ebony Fleming, the city’s director of communications, told ALXnow.
Last year, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, hired an additional 20% of off-duty D.C. police officers to handle security at games and events.
In the meantime, the Alexandria Fire Department is undergoing a restructuring, or redeployment, of resources. In 2022, more than 70% of AFD incidents were medical and rescue-related and just 15% were fire alarm and fire-related. Fleming says that the AFD Forward plan, which would redeploy resources around the city, will not be impacted by the arena.
“The arena will not impact AFD Forward,” Fleming said. “The Entertainment District project will include a fire and emergency medical services event services plan that will be developed to support the public in this area while maintaining full services for the rest of the City.”
Fleming did not provide a deadline for completion of the public safety and event services plan.
Fleming said that the police department is leading the law enforcement planning and that the Sheriff’s Office is “willing to support APD should they identify specific needs where Sheriff’s Deputies can enhance the public’s safety.” She also said that Sheriff Sean Casey is “confident a thorough needs assessment will be requested and conducted as part of the overall process.”
The proposed Potomac Yard arena, a collaboration between various government leaders and Monumental Sports & Entertainment, has gotten more than a little community pushback.
Now, Monumental Sports is counterattacking with a new website, called Monumental Opportunity, which claims to “provide project facts and information” and “correct misconceptions.”
The website has a “fact check” section that deals primarily with the financing of the project, but some of the biggest questions about the project’s feasibility remain unanswered.
One of the main criticisms of the project has been the transportation impact, with city leaders saying car travel will be discouraged to incentivize Metro transit, but Metro GM Randy Clarke stated the Potomac Yard Metro station can’t handle arena traffic.
The project website says:
Before this project was even announced, a preliminary transportation analysis was completed. Now, a nationally recognized transportation engineering firm (Kimley-Horn) is creating a world class transportation plan for the area. We will seek community input on that plan before it is finalized.
Our goals with the transportation plan are centered on:
- Protecting neighborhoods
- Transit and non-vehicle utilization
- Getting game/event traffic in and out as quickly and safely as possible
- Investing in Route 1 multi-modal upgrades (including DASH buses, lane adjustments, and transportation technology improvements)
How that transportation plan will accomplish those goals is unclear.
The website also says:
We start with a few key assets including several thousand existing parking spaces in the area, plans for a new underground parking facility, and most importantly, a brand new Metro station just steps from the proposed arena site. The partners are also thinking creatively about innovative solutions including Virginia Rail Express and Amtrak connections, bike routes, carpool and rideshare optimizations, shuttles, and even water taxis along the Potomac.
City leaders said the Metro station would need infrastructure upgrades to handle arena traffic as the station currently only has one staircase and escalator for each platform.
The water taxi suggestion — nicknamed ‘Gondola 2.0′ in a recent Del Ray Citizens’ Association meeting — has been raised repeatedly by advocates for the arena, though without any serious suggestions for how it could be implemented for the site. The site is separated from the Potomac River by a Metro line, the George Washington Parkway, and the Mount Vernon Trail while Four Mile Run to the north is rarely more than four feet deep.
