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AEDP president says future of Potomac Yard Target is a top question for many locals

Target in Potomac Yards (image via Google Maps)

While people around the region have been discussing the proposal to move the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards to a new Potomac Yard arena, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Stephanie Landrum said one of the most popular questions she’s been getting from Alexandrians is “What will happen to the Target?”

The Target (3101 Richmond Highway) at Potomac Yard was controversial back when it opened, according to a Washington Post article from 1997.

Nearby residents quoted in the article said they were concerned the strip mall project would create more traffic for their neighborhood and clog Route 1. The article contains eerily familiar accusations that neither the developer nor the City of Alexandria have adequate plans to deal with traffic.

Some bemoaned the death of plans to bring the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) to a new stadium at Potomac Yard; others said the shopping center was too large and unsightly.

The 1997 article notes that the shopping center was designed as an “interim” project to last around 20 years.

Now, with that interim use likely to be replaced with new development, Landrum said there’s widespread concern about Target going away.

“I don’t mean this facetiously; one of the biggest questions we’ve gotten is: what is going to happen to my Target?” Landrum said. “We want to acknowledge that our city loves our Target.”

Mayor Justin Wilson noted in an earlier meeting with the Del Ray Citizens Association that the Target at Potomac Yard “does extremely well” and will likely return in some capacity in the development process — though it might be scaled down.

“That was always an assumption, that we’d, in the future, have a more urban Target,” Wilson said. “What that looks like still needs to be determined in the future.”

Landrum said the plan was always, even pre-arena, to redevelop the current Target building.

“Our community, development partner, and Target are aligned in trying to find a future location for Target in a reimagined Potomac Yard,” Landrum said. “To be clear, that has always been the vision for the site, this project aside.”

During the same discussion, Landrum noted that tickets to Capitals and Wizards games might be slightly cheaper in Alexandria thanks to the city’s lower taxes.

“I don’t want there to be any confusion that somehow coming to events here is being structured as more expensive,” Landrum said. “Our admissions tax rate is a tiny bit lower than the current sales and tax use rate that people pay in D.C. So, that’s for the fans.”

Image via Google Maps

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State Senator: Metro funding is a ‘prerequisite’ for Potomac Yard plans

The Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

With WMATA announcing potentially drastic cuts to the Metro system, some Alexandria leaders are saying the Potomac Yard arena announcement can be leveraged to get Virginia to pony up more support.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, last week Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took to the stage with local leaders and Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis to announce plans to build a new arena in Potomac Yard.

State Sen. Adam Ebbin said on Twitter that the Potomac Yard plans are contingent on funding the Metro, which previously said the Potomac Yard Metro station was on the chopping block if WMATA can’t close it’s $750 million budget gap.

“Metro money is a PREREQUISITE for ANY serious consideration of the governor’s proposal,” Ebbin wrote.

Mayor Justin Wilson and City Council member Kirk McPike noted at the meeting that the Potomac Yard Metro station is integral to Potomac Yard plans, especially with the city pushing to minimize the amount of parking at the site.

At the same time, however, Wilson acknowledged that the Metro station is currently inadequate to handle arena traffic.

“There’s no way the current station can accommodate this use as is,” Wilson said. “A significant chunk of transportation investments will require improvements to the station.”

Wilson said the Metro station, which opened earlier this year, will need upgrades. Metro GM Randy Clarke confirmed that not only is the Potomac Yard station not up to handling arena traffic, but said no one contacted Metro before the Potomac Yard announcement.

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Poster lampooning Potomac Yard development calls on Washington Commanders to move to the area

A new poster in Potomac Yard lampooning development by calling for the Washington Commanders football team to come to the area (courtesy photo)

Updated at 2:45 p.m. New posters are lampooning the recent announcement that the Washington Capitals and Wizards are moving to Potomac Yard by demanding one more thing — for the Washington Commanders to also move to the neighborhood.

“BUILD THE STADIUM COMPLEX,” headlines the five posters, which say, “We must act fast! This mega complex will be suitable for (football, basketball and hockey stick emojis) and T Swift concerts. The streets of Del Ray will become sanctuary for riotous celebrations of multiple championships. We must not lose out to suburban Maryland!! Let’s make our suburb great again!”

This week’s announcement was met with dismay by some Potomac Yard residents who say that moving the Capitals and Wizards will destroy the fabric of the neighborhood.

The poster’s creator, known by the X handle @ArlingtonAF, also created a number of other humorous work in Arlington, most recently with a pro-pickleball posters.

“My official position is, I’m glad Potomac Yard is in Alexandria and not Arlington, and it’s not like Jeff Bezos trying to put a football team in Pentagon City..err.. I mean Nala (National Landing),” @ArlingtonAF told us. “That said, I believe Alexandria is holding a royal flush of trump cards, they should be demanding Leonsis pay for solid gold libraries, and flying school buses, the city has the leverage.”

The Wizards/Capitals move also inspired an AI-generated parody of the proposed $2 billion complex’s transportation infrastructure.

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Notes: Metro GM says Potomac Yard Metro can’t handle arena crowds

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunshine and a high temperature near 56 during the day, accompanied by a west wind blowing at 6 to 9 mph. The night will be mostly clear with the temperature dropping to around 34, and a west wind at a slightly lower speed of 3 to 5 mph.

🚨 You need to know

The Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

While Mayor Justin Wilson said WMATA was aware of the Potomac Yard arena discussion, ABC7 reported that Metro GM Randy Clarke said no one called him before the announcement.

Like Wilson, Clarke acknowledged that the current station is wholly inadequate to handle the kind of crowds expected for a Potomac Yard arena with the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards. The current station has only one escalator and staircase on each platform.

“There’s no way the current station can accommodate this use as is,” Wilson told the Del Ray Citizens Association. “A significant chunk of transportation investments will require improvements to the station.”

Whether the station even remains open is currently open for discussion, as Potomac Yard is currently on a list of ten stations that could close if Metro is unable to close its $750 million budget gap.

📈 Thursday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Dec 14, 2023.

  1. Alexandria Mayor: Potomac Yard arena will have minimal parking, but Metro station currently inadequate (12440 views)
  2. Northern Virginia Association of Realtors says Amy Jackson’s mayoral endorsement never happened (2060 views)
  3. Decades-long theater collaboration at Alexandria City High School coming to an end (1220 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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Alexandria Mayor: Potomac Yard arena will have minimal parking, but Metro station currently inadequate

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson speaks at the announcement of a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals in Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Dec. 13, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Yesterday’s announcement of the possible new arena at Potomac Yard turned a previously scheduled conversation with Mayor Justin Wilson into one of the first public discussions of the contentious project.

The Del Ray Citizens Association was packed with 375 participants on a Zoom call to ask Wilson questions about the new project. Across social media — and at a small protest outside the announcement — concerns focused on the secrecy around the project, car congestion at the site, and the Potomac Yard Metro’s ability to handle the amount of traffic.

Wilson acknowledged that “traffic and transportation is the biggest unknown here.”

While some traffic improvements are planned for Route 1 as part of this project, according to City Manager James Parajon, Wilson said the city’s focus is on discouraging people from driving to the arena.

“The city’s interest in these early discussions has been in keeping the number of parking spaces on this site at a minimum because we do not want a lot of vehicles accessing this use,” Wilson said. “This is intended to be a transit arena, a transit operation, that’s why we invested in a Metro station.”

Wilson said the new Potomac Yard will have a “significant net reduction” in parking spaces at the site.

“The intent is to ensure that we do not have people beyond a small core accessing this by vehicle,” Wilson said. “We will continue to push to keep parking at a minimum.”

But at the same time, Wilson admitted that the current Potomac Yard Metro station isn’t up to the task of handling the types of traffic generated by a sports arena.

“There’s no way the current station can accommodate this use as is,” Wilson said. “A significant chunk of transportation investments will require improvements to the station.”

Wilson said the station, which just opened earlier this year, will need upgrades to handle the volume generated by Capitals and Wizards games.

“[We’ll be] ensuring that the bridges and things like that can handle that capacity of volume,” Wilson said. “WMATA is aware of this discussion.”

For adjacent neighborhoods, Wilson said the city will take another look at parking permit questions that fell off during the pandemic.

“The pandemic and lower levels of office workers made that not as big of an issue, but we did create a [residential parking permit] in Potomac Yard and Potomac Greens,” Wilson said. “We never want to see a situation where our neighborhoods become street parking for this or the Metro in general.”

One of the concerns about the project was funding, but Wilson said this wasn’t going to be a giveaway of taxpayer money to a billionaire.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about concerns that we are providing a billionaire with taxpayer money; that is not what is happening here,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the development will be more than just an arena, it will have a music venue, esports, a practice facility, and more, along with a corporate headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

According to Wilson:

Virginia Stadium Authority will be issuing bonds for the construction for the arena. The land and arena will be owned by the public entity; it will be owned by a state agency. The debt borrowed by this public entity will be paid by three streams of money.

First: a private stream. Ted Leonsis will pay, first of all, a $400 million downpayment and a rent payment. That rent payment will be used to pay off that debt.

Second: the city will take a portion of the new tax revenue that comes from this development and we will use it to pay off a portion of this debt borrowed by that authority.

Third: the Commonwealth will take a portion of its tax revenue coming off this use and they will use it to pay off the loans used to construct it.

This is exactly the way we funded the Potomac Yard metro. We funded it using the tax increment of development that happened in Potomac Yard.

We are not using city tax dollars that would be used to pay police officers, firefighters, educators etc. We are using the new money generated by the project to pay off the debt.

Wilson acknowledged that there are some stadiums that are bad investments. In fact, many economic studies suggest sports stadiums don’t deliver on the promised economic impact.

“There are a lot of bad stadium deals around the country,” Wilson said. “That’s why, when we went into this discussion, we had to have private money in this… A public-private partnership should not be entirely public. There are stadium deals around the country, even in this region, that have been entirely public. We, as we went through this process, tried to ensure that we learned the lessons of those failed deals.”

Economic studies commissioned by the city, according to Wilson, said a new arena in Potomac Yard could beat the trend and provide a positive impact.

“Based on the analysis we have done, and we’ve brought in outside entities to analyze the financials of this project, this has the potential to be a very significant net positive for the city’s taxpayers,” Wilson said.

The alternative, Wilson said, is slow growth around the Metro station without a central anchor to spur development.

“If this doesn’t happen, we’ll continue to have a large surface parking lot and a suburban shopping center,” Wilson said. “Virginia Tech will come along, mixed-use projects close to the Metro would potentially happen, but the financial difference is dramatic. That’s why we pursued this, and that’s why we’re presenting it to the public.”

Touching on a few other topics, Wilson noted that the Target at Potomac Yard was always slated for redevelopment, though the store does “extremely well” and it’s likely that there will be another Target there as part of redevelopment.

“That was always an assumption, that we’d, in the future, have a more urban Target,” Wilson said. “What that looks like still needs to be determined in the future.”

Wilson also said a new school site has been in plans for Potomac Yard, but only once the project reaches certain development thresholds. Wilson said the hope is the arena development will be a catalyst for other development in the area.

Many local residents said they were blindsided by the decision, which only emerged as public reports of backroom deals earlier this week despite Senator Mark Warner saying discussions about the move have been ongoing in the higher echelons of power since earlier this summer.

“Obviously, for a lot of residents, this is a surprise; an announcement that nobody was expecting,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately [due to] the nature of competitive economic investments… it has to be confidential at the leadup of the process.”

Wilson said the city will be launching a public engagement process soon.

“Now we have entered the phase where we’ve got to hear from you,” Wilson said. “We have to hear from you about what would make this feasible, what would make this possible, what you think is missing, and how we could make it viable if you don’t feel it is. That’s the conversation we’re going to have over the next year and that’s how we’re going to address some very real concerns about infrastructure.”

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Poll: What do you think of the proposed Capitals and Wizards arena in Potomac Yard?

Rendering of aerial view of Monumental Arena development (image courtesy of JBG SMITH)

Earlier today, officials announced plans to bring the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards to a new arena in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood.

The new $2 billion arena, leased to Monumental Sports & Entertainment, is scheduled to break ground in 2025 and open sometime in late 2028, a press release from the governor’s office said.

In addition to the arena — immediately adjacent to the Potomac Yard Metro station — the new development would include a concert venue, media studio, retail, residential, restaurants and more.

All of that’s still pending approval from the Virginia legislature and Alexandria’s City Council, but the project enjoyed bipartisan support from leaders like Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Senator Mark Warner, and Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson.

Less enthusiastic, however, were some residents outside of the building and much of the discussion online, and not entirely from traditional sources of arguments around density. Concerns were voiced online about the facility’s impact on both car traffic and Metro congestion’s impact on transit commuters and travelers to National Airport.

https://twitter.com/JBfromDC89/status/1734955017390497978

How do you feel about the proposed arena development at Potomac Yard?

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BREAKING: Washington Capitals and Wizards are officially moving to Potomac Yard

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Updated 3/27/2024 — The Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards are not, in fact, coming to Potomac Yard

It’s official: the Washington Capitals and the Washington Wizards are moving to Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood.

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP) confirmed the news this morning ahead of a 9 a.m. announcement from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the team’s owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ted Leonsis.

Washington Post first reported the development on Monday. The Post said that Virginia’s Major Economic Investment Project Approval Commission unanimously voted to approve a complex that was tantamount to a mini-city, with a music venue and hotel in addition to the sports center.

The project will be adjacent to the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in the Alexandria portion of National Landing — the collective term for Potomac Yard, Crystal City and Pentagon City.

“After many years of dreaming, many years of discussion, I’m pleased to announce that right here, in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard, we have a plan to unleash a brighter, more extraordinary future,” said Youngkin. “We will build a spectacular $2 billion dollar sports and entertainment district.”

Leonsis said the move to Virginia is a “transformative step forward.”

“I have always believed there is a higher calling in sports — to unify our community, build a lasting legacy over multiple generations, and lift all our neighbors towards a shared sense of prosperity,” Leonsis said. “Today, we deepen that commitment as we enter a phase of rapid expansion in service to our fans, employees, and partners.”

Leonsis said starting a new stadium with a sense of tabula rasa was a big part of Potomac Yard’s appeal.

“When I saw 70 acres and the ability to start with a clean slate… to build a digital first experience, it really is a very romantic but also pragmatic vision that we can’t do anywhere else,” Leonsis said. “I got goosebumps again when I came here a week ago and looked at all of the expansion capabilities.”

As part of the deal, the construction and ownership of the arena would be overseen by a new Virginia stadium authority, and the arena would be leased to Monumental.

“Subject to legislative approval by the Virginia General Assembly, the Entertainment District will break ground in 2025 and open in late 2028,” said a press release from the governor’s office.

This morning’s announcement is being made in a large makeshift tent next door to the Potomac Yard Metro station and near the under-construction Virginia Tech campus.

“Pending completion of agreements and General Assembly and City Council approval, the new Entertainment District will feature an industry-leading arena for both the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, the global business headquarters for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, an expanded esports facility, and a performing arts venue — in addition to new retail, restaurants, and conference and community gathering spaces,” AEDP said.

A map of the planned Monumental development, directly adjacent to the Metro station, also includes a fan plaza, a practice facility for the Capitals and Wizards, and a TV studio for the Monumental Sports Network — formerly NBC Sports Washington. The map also notes the future development of the current Potomac Yard shopping center.

AEDP said the development will still need to go through a community engagement process, with community meetings and workshops, which it said will kick off in early 2024.

In the release, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson called the move a direct result of the work on the Potomac Yard Metro station.

“Alexandria’s ability to attract this ambitious project is a direct result of the success of previous investments made in Potomac Yard and across our City,” said Wilson. “A project this special will help the City realize our collective strategy and the vibrant vision for this neighborhood and for our City as a whole.”

The move comes with a $2 billion investment into the new entertainment district. AEDP said the new arena is estimated to generate 30,000 jobs and a total economic impact of $12 billion over the next few decades.

“This includes millions of dollars over the project term to create affordable housing, offer rental and homeownership assistance, and to invest in transportation improvements and education,” AEDP said.

“This exciting new project is the result of decades of thoughtful long-term strategic planning and a clear vision for growth across Alexandria,” said AEDP President and CEO Stephanie Landrum. “From the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus to the new Potomac Yard-VT Metro Station, Alexandria has created the ideal environment and location for this exciting project.”

Battles ahead in the arena

With large-scale development in Alexandria, though, comes arguments around density and traffic impacts. Some Alexandria residents already aren’t happy with the move, which comes 30 years after Alexandria leaders rebuffed a proposed football stadium for the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders).

“Imagine typical rush hour traffic on the George Washington Parkway and Route 1 and then throw in a playoff hockey game at 7 p.m.,” said Mark Haney, a local resident. “Madness.”

Fresh off a fight over single-family-only zoning, Roy Byrd, Chair of the Coalition for a Livable Alexandria, told WJLA there was real concern about gridlock and traffic along Route 1 that would be exacerbated with the new arena.

At the meeting, Youngkin’s speech was accompanied by a chorus of boos and jeers from outside of the tent.

“We want you here,” said Wilson.

“We don’t want you here,” someone outside of the tent shouted.

Some protestors gathered outside of the tent.

“There’s been no plans presented to the public,” said one Potomac Yard resident protesting the move. “What about the environmental impact? There are wetlands here. We found out about this plan this week. Where’s the transparency?”

One of the only acknowledgements of the battles ahead came from Senator Mark Warner.

“Our job is to make sure neighborhoods adjacent, here in Potomac Yard and in Del Ray, feel engaged and know their quality of life will be protected and, at the end of the day, their quality of life will be improved,” said Warner. “We’re going to need to be missionaries out in to the community to hear concerns, legitimate and otherwise.”

City Council members said after the announcement that transportation planning would be a major focus of the public planning process following the announcement.

“This is not a done deal yet,” said City Council member Kirk McPike. “There is a lot of negotiation and a lot of discussion, both between the people on the stage but also between Alexandria and our residents. Traffic conditions are going to be a major concern.”

McPike said the city will try to incentivize Metro use over driving, but there will also be improvements to the nearby roads to accommodate drivers.

“We will address transportation issues, a lot of our investments locally will be about improving the roadways and improving the flow of traffic, which we’ll have to do anyway as this area develops out.”

City Council member Sarah Bagley said the project will still need to have a public development special use permit process.

“[This project] is going to go through a similar public process, though the Planning Commission and public hearings,” said Bagley. “The public will have ample opportunities to weigh in with questions about transportation, about housing, about environmental impacts: all the normal SUP and DSUP processes.”

“Nothing here is finalized,” said City Council member Alyia Gaskins. “What we’ve presented is a framework and a concept, now begins the work to engage with our community to figure out what we need to protect against, what are the benefits people want to see, and what is the vision that the community wants integrated into this process.”

City Manager James Parajon said the city will continue to work on transportation planning.

“We have a pretty good game plan for how to manage the traffic and the amazing visitors and residents who will take part,” Parajon said. “It involves several hundred million dollars in improvements we’ll be working with the state on.”

Parajon said Potomac Yard was ideal because it featured multiple routes to get to the station: via driving, bus rapid transit, Metro and bicycle. At the end of the day, though, Parajon said the area was always going to see an uptick in traffic with new development.

“This has always been planned to be a fairly intensive and significant area for activity, which means there is going to be vehicular traffic in this area,” Parajon said. “But this site has been designed to offer maximum choice for people to get to and from the area.”

Parajon also said, like McPike, that the new arena was far from a done deal — though with the presence of every City Council member at the announcement, a future rejection of the arena development seems unlikely.

“What’s occurred is the development of a proposed framework that still requires multiple improvements, multiple approvals, by the legislature and by the city,” Parajon said. “It will be a robust and very involved public engagement process.”

Local residents outside the building had little faith in the city’s promises to address their concerns.

“We will tie this up in litigation,” said Adrien Lopez. “If this is being shoved down our throat without public consultation, we’re going to have to lawyer up and tie this up in litigation if they’re talking about bringing it here by 2028. That’s crazy.”

“Leonsis is worth billions of dollars and could finance his own stadium if he wanted to,” said Patrick Hedger. “If it’s such a great deal, taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to pay for it.”

Upon being told the new sports arena was going to be build next-door, a barista at a nearby Starbucks shook her head and muttered, “oh god.”

The broader impact

The topic came up at a meeting of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, on which ALXnow editor Vernon Miles serves. In the meeting, committee members said the arena could serve as both a hub and hurdle for emergency planning.

“In theory, it does offer a facility for such things as large mass care and large reception centers,” said Red Cross representative Paul Carden said. “At the last inauguration, the convention center in downtown D.C. brought together a medical team to set up 20,000 cots. It was a place to send large numbers of people that might need care.”

Others noted that the facility must be factored into the city’s emergency planning.

“It does add a [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] element to the city,” said Jerome Cordis from the city’s Public Health Advisory Commission.”How they staff up and what types of threats are things to be considered.”

While the discussion of the merits and costs of a new arena in Potomac Yard are just starting to be discussed among the Alexandria public, D.C. residents have already begun lamenting the loss of the teams — though Washington Wizards fans at least should be used to that.

What this means for Potomac Yard

Terry Clower, professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, said the proposed development is a game changer for the city’s Potomac Yard plans.

“Certainly, it is potentially a real changer for the visioning for what they were going to do in Potomac Yard,” Clower told ALXnow. “It is a spectacular amenity for the city of Alexandria and for folks that live nearby who happen to be basketball or hockey fans, or fans of concerts in the venue”

Clower said it remains to be seen whether the new development will bring new economic investment to the region or just cannibalize development from the Gallery Place area.

The impact to watch, Clower said, will also be on how the Monumental Arena affects the plans for Potomac Yard to be a technology hub.

“The interesting piece is — this might change, in some ways not necessarily good or bad — what was originally envisioned for development there,” Clower said. “Now you’re talking about a distinct shift into more entertainment, as opposed to technology businesses and residences.”

Clower also said protests from nearby residents aren’t particularly surprising, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t raising legitimate issues.

“One thing we have in this region whether we’re talking about data centers and arenas, you will definitely have folks who will bet in that ‘not in my backyard’ category,” Clower said. “But there are legitimate concerns. Traffic is not easy even today.”

Lastly, Clower said there’s little hope for a change to the Alexandria Wizards and the Alexandria Capitals.

“I don’t think there will be a name change,” Clower said. “This is not like moving them to some outer ring suburb, this is very much the team identity. It still remains a regional asset, in large part because they’re doing it at what amounts to an inner ring suburb Metro.”

The press release from the governor’s office is below.

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Gov. Youngkin and Washington Capitals/Wizards owner expected at event in Potomac Yard tomorrow, WBJ reports

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Updated at 8:35 a.m. — It’s official.

Earlier: A big announcement about the Potomac Yard sports arena — possibly a new home to the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards — could come tomorrow morning.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will join Monumental Sports & Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ted Leonsis at an event tomorrow morning in Potomac Yard, the Washington Business Journal reported.

The Journal reported that negotiations are coming down to the wire, with D.C. still haggling over the stadium even as tents are being set up at 3405 Potomac Avenue.

The location of the meeting is directly adjacent to the Potomac Yard Metro station and near the under-construction Virginia Tech campus. Multiple members of Alexandria’s City Council have also confirmed that they will attend, including John Taylor Chapman, Alyia Gaskins and Canek Aguirre.

The Washington Post previously said reports indicate the Major Economic Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission met on Monday and voted to approve a complex that was tantamount to a mini-city, with a music venue and hotel in addition to the sports center.

The construction and ownership of the stadium would be overseen by a new Virginia stadium authority to be leased to Monumental.

At 6:30 p.m., ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski posted on X that the event will “unveil plans for a proposed new arena complex and entertainment district for Wizards and NHL’s Capitals.”

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BREAKING: Washington Capitals and Wizards could move to Potomac Yard

As seen in Potomac Yard (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Virginia lawmakers are meeting today to consider a deal to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Potomac Yard, the Washington Post first reported.

The teams could be moving to a new mixed-use facility in the Potomac Yard neighborhood, multiple officials involved with the proposal told the Post. A Virginia stadium authority would own the complex and lease it to Capitals and Wizards’ owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

The reported sports complex would feature both basketball and hockey facilities, as well as a large underground parking area and a possible concert venue. The Post reported the artist’s rendering described as a “little mini-city development.”

The announcement comes after reports of Monumental Sports & Entertainment asking D.C. for $600 million in public funds for the renovation.

The Alexandria Economic Development Partnership said it couldn’t comment on the story. Neither would Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson.

“No comment on economic development,” Wilson told ALXnow, “but we are bullish on the future of Potomac Yard! So much opportunity for the city’s future.”

The new Potomac Yard Metro station opened in the neighborhood earlier this year and Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus is under construction.

It isn’t the first time stadium discussion has surfaced in Potomac Yard. In the 1990s there were plans to install a football stadium in the area, pushed by then-Governor L. Douglas Wilder and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, but Alexandria Mayor Patsy Ticer led a successful fight against the stadium.

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Alexandria investing in thousands of mussels to help clean the Potomac River

Mussels (photo via Gil Ndjouwou/Unsplash)

Among the results of a settled lawsuit between the City of Alexandria and the Potomac Riverkeeper Network is a project to add thousands of freshwater mussels to the Potomac River.

City Council member Sarah Bagley gave the Council an update last week from the Waterfront Commission where she said the mussels — which are filter feeders and help clean the water –would be added to the river as part of the city’s remediation efforts.

“One element of that settlement is an environmentally beneficial project, and that project is going to involve mussels being introduced into the Potomac,” Bagley said.

Bagley said the exact location hasn’t been determined yet.

“Exactly where hasn’t been determined yet, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be guiding that decision,” Bagley said, “but it’s an interesting part of the settlement that I thought I would highlight for the community: that we’re going to have local mussels in our waters.”

The Alexandria Times reported earlier this year that the plan is to provide $300,000 to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to introduce 20,000 freshwater mussels sometime in early 2024.

Image via Gil Ndjouwou/Unsplash

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