Wizards and Caps could be moving to Potomac Yard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

I think Snyder permanently killed the fan base. I remember the winning years and how RFK would literally shake. Under Snyder, I went from hating him, to hating the team, to not caring. Now that he's gone, I still don't really care. I root for my college now and watch the national games on Sundays. For the people I know who have grown up here, my progression is pretty standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

I think Snyder permanently killed the fan base. I remember the winning years and how RFK would literally shake. Under Snyder, I went from hating him, to hating the team, to not caring. Now that he's gone, I still don't really care. I root for my college now and watch the national games on Sundays. For the people I know who have grown up here, my progression is pretty standard.

Agreed. I was a senior in HS when they won the Super Bowl. It was a slow fade from about 5 years after that. I just don't care anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

If the Commanders mattered, RFK v.2 would be a thing. It’s not. No one in DC wants them back. The Commanders are no where near being relevant in the NFL.
Leonsis might be a mediocre owner but there are metro areas willing to fork over the cash for teams. PY probably isn’t happening and Leonsis is not committed to the District in the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

Correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

But there is no passion in DC to spend a huge amount of tax money to have the Commandskins play in the District. Nostalgia for the RFK Redskins era has faded, and it's not enough when DC is facing a fiscal crisis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

Except as the numbers are coming out the deal looks worse and worse for Virginia taxpayers. The stall gives time for people to really assess it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

I think Snyder permanently killed the fan base. I remember the winning years and how RFK would literally shake. Under Snyder, I went from hating him, to hating the team, to not caring. Now that he's gone, I still don't really care. I root for my college now and watch the national games on Sundays. For the people I know who have grown up here, my progression is pretty standard.

Professional sports in general have come less important everywhere. Thirty years ago, Redskins stadium was the place to be on a Sunday. That hasn’t been the case in a long time and wouldn’t be the case now even if the team was consistently winning. There are so many other ways for people to spend their time — gaming, screwing around on the Internet, great restaurants, bars and clubs, pickleball, museums, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

Except as the numbers are coming out the deal looks worse and worse for Virginia taxpayers. The stall gives time for people to really assess it.

Of course time does that, but these politicians (on both sides) are going to get theirs like all politicians do. Each one is going to leverage their vote to get something for their constituents. The ones that represent the areas immediately by PY (except for Bennett-Parker but I have no doubt she will cave too) do not care what the people here think. And threatening to vote them out won’t work either because people in Alexandria and Arlington consistently vote in lock step with one party progressive democrat rule no matter what. Nothing will change.

I’ve lost all hope. It is an insanely bad decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

What could she possibly get for Portsmouth that would compensate for her constituents’ taxes being hiked to pay for this arena?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

Except as the numbers are coming out the deal looks worse and worse for Virginia taxpayers. The stall gives time for people to really assess it.

Of course time does that, but these politicians (on both sides) are going to get theirs like all politicians do. Each one is going to leverage their vote to get something for their constituents. The ones that represent the areas immediately by PY (except for Bennett-Parker but I have no doubt she will cave too) do not care what the people here think. And threatening to vote them out won’t work either because people in Alexandria and Arlington consistently vote in lock step with one party progressive democrat rule no matter what. Nothing will change.

I’ve lost all hope. It is an insanely bad decision.

The proposal is coming from a republican governor. I am not sure what lockstep democratic voting means for that in this case. Are you suggesting a GOP candidate for these seats in Alexandria would oppose the GOP governor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

What could she possibly get for Portsmouth that would compensate for her constituents’ taxes being hiked to pay for this arena?

Pick something from this list:

https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/10/25/portsmouth-discusses-infrastructure-funding-renter-protection-for-2024-legislative-priorities/

[Anonymous]

Surovall on The Politics Hour said they were holding it up to get concessions on a variety of issues. Cannibas, tolls in Hampton roads, and a few other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Two very lackluster franchises. No buzz at all and zero hardcore support.

The Orioles and Ravens are the only area teams with inherent value. Orioles due to iconic stadium and Ravens due to fantastic management

The Nats have a lot of support and fans

The Nats HAD a lot of support and fans. Unfortunately they were all fair-weather. Also, people come to DC to work, not to live. They come to the DMV and remain fans of teams from wherever they are from.
No one who is a Commanders fan. The DMV is not an area that appreciates American football. The Commanders could leave tomorrow and no one would care.
As for Leonsis, if he doesn’t get his new PY arena, he’s probably going to be taking the Wiz and Caps elsewhere.

I guess you are forgetting the decades of sellouts and decades ling waiting list for tickets pre-Dan Snyder. The region was passionate about the football team until Snyder killed it. It won't take much to get it back. The Bullets/Wizards and Caps were always the easier ticket, particularly when they played at the Capital Centre. The downtown move boosted Wizards attendance and Ovi put Caps ticket sales over the top. Ovi will retire soon, the Wizards are still irrelevant and Ted is basically a medicore at best owner.

But there is no passion in DC to spend a huge amount of tax money to have the Commandskins play in the District. Nostalgia for the RFK Redskins era has faded, and it's not enough when DC is facing a fiscal crisis.

And there’s no passion in Virginia to spend tax money to have the wizards and the caps play in Virginia.

Ted should just move them to another part of the country. Maybe North Dakota or Alabama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It passed the house of delegates and now goes to the state senate. I hope Louise can stop it over there.

The key phrase in the financing is :”the full faith and credit”. This is a term of art in public finance which means Youngkin wants to pledge the full faith and credit of Virginia towards payment of the bonds (assuming general obligation bonds). This is VERY important because that essentially means that Virginia is promising to use whatever money it has to pay the debt service on the bonds to bond holders and cannot simply default or refuse to pay should the proposed revenue stream (ticket sales, sales tax, property tax, etc) not raise enough at any time to pay the debt service.

Furthermore, this means Virginia would literally need to go bankrupt as an entire state before those bonds could default. This also means every single Virginia tax payer’s money is on the line, no matter where you live in Virginia. The federal government put its full faith and credit behind Fannie Mae issued bonds in the 2000s, and look how that turned out. It’s the main reason the fed had to bail out the banks.

This is serious, and we have a bunch of elected clowns in both parties who don’t seem to really understand the niche of public finance.

Louise already stopped it in the Senate. I think she agrees with you. This is a horrible deal for Virginians. If it is such a nobrainer deal, then Ted should go to the banks and get the financing for it himself.

She did not stop it. She held it up in order to get something she wants from Youngkin. Once she gets something for Portsmouth, she’ll move the arena bill forward. It’s Politics 101.

Except as the numbers are coming out the deal looks worse and worse for Virginia taxpayers. The stall gives time for people to really assess it.

Of course time does that, but these politicians (on both sides) are going to get theirs like all politicians do. Each one is going to leverage their vote to get something for their constituents. The ones that represent the areas immediately by PY (except for Bennett-Parker but I have no doubt she will cave too) do not care what the people here think. And threatening to vote them out won’t work either because people in Alexandria and Arlington consistently vote in lock step with one party progressive democrat rule no matter what. Nothing will change.

I’ve lost all hope. It is an insanely bad decision.

The proposal is coming from a republican governor. I am not sure what lockstep democratic voting means for that in this case. Are you suggesting a GOP candidate for these seats in Alexandria would oppose the GOP governor?

Every single member of Alexandria City Council, the Mayor, Beyer, McPike and Sen Warner stood up on that stage at the press conference along with Youngkin and stated they approved of the idea. So yeah, if these people, who are progressive (maybe except Warner) are in bed with Youngkin over this. They made their Faustian deal. I expect Louise to do the same.

It’s awful. I didn’t even suggest anything about a republican city council member, I don’t know what you’re babbling about. Also, a republican on the city council? That’s hilarious.