We’re getting new details about the tentative deal struck to keep the Washington Capitals and Wizards in D.C.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ted Leonsis, the owner of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the teams, signed a $515 million deal on Wednesday to keep the teams in the District until at least 2050. It was a major reversal from just three months ago, when Leonsis and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced plans to move the teams to Virginia.
The D.C. deal is filled with provisions beneficial to Monumental beyond the millions for improvements to the teams' downtown arena.
The deal will allow more outdoor advertising around Capital One Arena, will provide for extra police protection and would exempt Monumental Sports from any new taxes that might help lure the Washington Commanders from Maryland back into D.C.
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Among the more notable pieces of the deal, which — we should note — is nonbinding and subject to change:
- Monumental Sports would be exempt from any new taxes benefiting other sports franchises.
- The Washington Mystics would be able to play four regular-season games, plus any playoffs, at Capital One Arena. Leonsis has complained that the Mystics' usual venue, the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Congress Heights, is not large enough for that team.
- Monumental would be allowed to expand outdoor digital signage around Capital One Arena and would be able to keep all revenue from outdoor advertising.
- Monumental would get full control of the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast D.C.
- The District would be required to power wash the sidewalks around Capital One Arena monthly
The tax exemption benefiting any new sports franchise seems aimed at the possibility of a new tax to help pay for a Commanders move.
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Bowser said Friday that keeping the Caps and Wizards in the District sends a clear message to the Commanders' majority owner, Josh Harris, that the city is ready to deal.
"It demonstrates that we're serious about sports, that our community is serious about sports, that we recognize the spinoff value of making sports and infrastructure investments ..." Bowser said. "We see it with Nats Park, in the Capitol riverfront that has developed around Nats Park and now Audi field."
"We see it. We saw it in a negative way, even with just the mere announcement that our sports teams would leave the downtown — that we think it led to some pessimism that infected the whole economy," she continued. "So we know the value of having great franchises and great projects. And we're committed to both."
The deal would require enhanced police protection around the arena on days when there are any events.
It would also give Monumental the option of building a new training facility for the Wizards at Gallery Place or RFK Stadium.
The agreement signed this week has a 45-day due diligence period, during which changes could be made. During that time frame, Leonsis is restricted from negotiating with any other jurisdictions.
On Friday, a Monumental spokesperson released a statement saying, "We look forward to the D.C. Council vote on Tuesday to pass the Downtown Arena Modernization and Downtown Revitalization Act of 2023 put forth by Mayor Bowser. We will then have the opportunity to get to work on the Development Agreement and articulate the fine points of the deal."
