Opinion

Why Washington’s sports teams should stay in Washington

We’ve seen that arenas are great for cities. That’s why we’ve invested so much over the years to support this one. Since the District began our partnership with Pollin in 1997, we have provided below-market rents and offered millions of dollars in tax abatements. In 2007, the District gave the arena’s ownership group $50 million for building upgrades in exchange for keeping the teams in D.C. until 2047, an additional 20-year commitment. The city also built and funded the majority of a $65 million practice facility and home court for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, which opened in 2018.

Although it is true that post-covid work changes have meant fewer workers occupying downtown and suburban offices alike, that has not hindered Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s success at the Capital One Arena. According to Forbes, the Wizards, in which Monumental owner Ted Leonsis purchased a majority stake in 2010 for $310 million, are currently worth $3.5 billion — an 11-fold increase in value. Last year, the arena set two records: Drake became the first rapper to earn more than $5 million in a single U.S. arena concert and the Premier Boxing Champions broke the all-time gate record for ticket revenue. Despite economic headwinds and lean years for both the Capitals and the Wizards, Monumental’s revenue, valuations and profits are stronger than they have ever been, thanks to fans coming to D.C.

The city wants to keep that mutually beneficial success going, which is why we put forth such a strong offer to help with the next phase of the arena and the surrounding neighborhood.

After negotiating several offers over the better part of last year, D.C. offered Monumental $500 million to be paid in three tranches beginning this year, a deal that would have provided well more than half of the estimated $800 million cost of a complete renovation that better connects the arena to the surrounding neighborhood and businesses and brings the fan experience closer to the court. The result would be a new, more profitable, state-of-the-art urban arena, with improved corporate suites and more and better entertainment options. The city would leverage our AAA bond rating to borrow without raising taxes or displacing any planned capital projects. It is unequivocally a great deal for Monumental, with near total certainty and the lowest performance risk. In fact, the D.C. Council has already unanimously agreed to advance the deal, making the initial payment to start construction available within months of the bill passage.

Our deal would mean Monumental can avoid any broken promises, breached leases or potential litigation to distract from building the most valuable regional sports company. It would mean equitable construction spending and our continued support of the Service Employees International Union and Unite Here! Local 23 workers who earn good pay and benefits in D.C. Truthfully, we still don’t know whether the Virginia deal will cross the finish line or whether this gamble will work. Perhaps this is why Leonsis has not yet signed anything.

We’re proposing a deal that isn’t just good for downtown but is an exercise in true regionalism. The District has long supported regional governance in transportation, as funders and governing members of the boards of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and we understand that the regional transportation network is also experiencing its own post-pandemic moment. We should be building on the current infrastructure at Gallery Place and Metro Center, not asking the underfunded Metro system to approve capital expenses to accommodate a shifting use that entails no new users, just new expenses. Given that the Virginia site would interrupt Reagan National Airport traffic on game days, it is also not the moment to ask the airport to adjust flight patterns and schedules, clog already crowded roads or ask travelers to choose a different airport.

D.C. fans, sadly, are familiar with the broken promise of a shiny new stadium to replace the rocking stands of RFK and generations of family memories. But more broadly, we think fans from all over the region enjoy a night out in the city — for a ballgame, the theater or dinner at our award-winning restaurants. There is no replacement for the energy and history of a city, no sprawling development that can replace it, no building — no matter how new or shiny — that can replicate it.

Throughout this process, much has been said about the challenges of city life — street artists, for example, and crime. But I don’t believe for a minute that’s why Monumental has struck a handshake deal with Virginia. Their decision was about money and land. Period. Nor is it true that the District did not try hard enough. At every stage, we put forth the best deal we could offer at the time we could offer it.

On the contrary, Leonsis himself points to the goose bumps he got when seeing the undeveloped land as the reason for the move. But Downtown D.C. is ripe for development, too. Though we can’t currently offer 12 acres of undeveloped land, we know there’s great potential to grow an urban campus with Monumental and other Leonsis companies right in the core of the city. New York’s Madison Square Garden is an example of an in-place renovation that provided just that.

We intend to keep our end of the bargain and enforce the leases with Monumental that require the Wizards and Capitals to play at the arena through 2047 and the Mystics to play in Congress Heights through 2037. If Monumental goes ahead and breaks its leases, the short-term impact will be tough, not only on the neighborhood, but on our entire city. But let me be clear: The city owns the land under the Capital One Arena and will own the building should Monumental break its lease.

In the long run, the future of the Chinatown neighborhood is bounded only by our willingness to think big. Our Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force is already preparing for multiple paths forward. I am confident we will create an iconic D.C. destination experience akin to Union Market, the Yards, the Wharf or City Center — hopefully with Monumental Sports & Entertainment. I am also confident that whether we operate the current arena or build something new, we will continue to have a world-class concert venue in D.C.

It’s only right that D.C.’s teams stay in D.C. Leonsis has previously acknowledged the huge responsibility that comes with owning a team, saying “the teams really aren’t owned by me and my partners; they’re really owned by the city itself.” Now, I’m not a billionaire, but I do believe it’s possible to have enough money. A great legacy and reputation, however, are priceless.