The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill allowing a plan for an arena to be built in Alexandria for the Washington Capitals and Wizards to move forward. The legislation moves to the Virginia Senate, where its future is murkier.
The legislation creating a quasi-government body called the Virginia Sports Authority that would own the arena, the land, the office space, etc., passed on a bipartisan 59-40 vote without public debate in the House — not a single delegate asked a question about the bill as it made its way through the body.
The Virginia Sports Authority would issue the bonds that will finance the deal and collect the money to pay the bonds off, using direct money from Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Capitals and Wizards, and some of the new tax revenue generated at the site.
Monumental Sports released a statement saying it is encouraged by Tuesday’s vote.
Meanwhile, a group of residents opposing the arena released a statement saying the arena proposed for Potomac Yard faces increased opposition despite the House vote. Stop the Arena thanked Dels. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria) and Adele McClure (D-Arlington) for voting against the legislation.
“While there is much more that needs to be worked out here in the city and among private parties, I’m voting yes today to allow the debate to continue and to allow this bill to get better as it goes through the process before making my final decision,” House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria, Arlington) said before the vote. “Ultimately, no matter how good the opportunity is, we must make sure we are protecting the interests of the people of the commonwealth of Virginias and the city of Alexandria.”
In the Senate, the bill likely will start in the Finance Committee chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Louis Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who on Monday said the bill is dead as far as she’s concerned. The Senate version of the bill was allowed to die this week without a hearing.
Monumental Move
State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) told News4 Monday Democrats are concerned whether Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will consider their priorities.
“This is his priority; we have priorities as well,” Surovell said. “We've had several conversations about that. He's never expressed really an openness to discussing — except for Metro, I guess — other than that — cannabis, minimum wage — he's not really expressed an openness to discussing it."
An important piece of the bill is a reenactment clause that says if it passes, the General Assembly needs to approve it again in one year. So, if the bill passes and Youngkin chooses to sign that but pass on the Democrats’ priorities, they still have that reenactment clause in hand to potentially blow up the arena deal next year.
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