Wizards and Caps could be moving to Potomac Yard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazing perspective here from the Utah Jazz owner.

"Downtown Salt Lake City is the heart of Utah,” Smith posted.

“Our efforts are not about an arena, it’s about revitalizing a downtown that desperately needs investment. Imagine a downtown experience like this with the NBA / NHL at its core.”

The Jazz are getting the arena district that Ted wants

https://www.ksl.com/article/50925893/utah-senate-passes-potential-nbanhl-arena-bill-house-passes-mlb-stadium-bill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Step 1) Take the DC deal and get DC to put a huge security presence on game days in the arena area and metro. Say it was a mistake to move.

Step 2) Bring back the team name to the iconic Bullets. From an era and history that the team was well run and good.

I don’t know why Virginia would even want the teams. When you look in the rafters of the current arena it’s practically barren of meaningful franchise accomplishments. 1 half century old nba championship of a team with a different name and 1 Stanley cup in 50 years. Then the hilarious Mystics attendance leader banner. When number 8 retires in the immediate future there is zero reason to waste time on these teams that have boring names and poor loyalty. There is nothing interesting about the new project. It looks sterile and aesthetically boring while being hilariously right next to the Reagan National jet takeoff impact zone.

Total joke.

The Caps have been sold out for basically the last 15 years. The Wizards draw incredibly well for how putrid they have been since 1980.

Fans will come if you put a winning product on the floor.

Those attendance numbers will not carryover to PY for either the Caps or the Wizards.

Attendance is down for the Caps. Their ticket sales people are pulling all sorts of gimmicks to entice customers.

It might carryover if they're able to change the experience. The Nationals were terrible when they moved to the district, but it was so fun to take kids to a brand new ballpark with playgrounds and misters and fun food, that the team didn't really matter much. They could build an experiential arena with lots of outdoor music and other features that would make it worth the trip.

Oh lord, please no outdoor music. That will drive people away.

I am pretty confident that you will NOT be taking your young kids to Caps or Wizards during the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

The problem isn't that he wants an entertainment district, the problem is that he wants tax payers to subsidize it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazing perspective here from the Utah Jazz owner.

"Downtown Salt Lake City is the heart of Utah,” Smith posted.

“Our efforts are not about an arena, it’s about revitalizing a downtown that desperately needs investment. Imagine a downtown experience like this with the NBA / NHL at its core.”

The key here..."DOWNTOWN" in the middle of the SLC region where everyone can get to it easily.

PY offers not that solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

25 years ago, Abe Pollan built the arena with his own money. He didn't take a DC subsidy to move the teams into town. The only reason he built the Capital Centre in Landover was because he had to move quickly to have a venue ready for the Caps in 1973 and PG County at the beltway was the only place he could do it. He said many times that if he had had a few more months in the early 1970's when the NHL awarded the franchise, he would have built downtown.

Moving the teams out is just stupid and shortsighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

The problem isn't that he wants an entertainment district, the problem is that he wants tax payers to subsidize it

I'm not sure that's the problem that people have with it. I think it's the loudest reason, but I guarantee that if Leonsis came back today and said "fine, I'll pay for the whole thing myself" most people yelling now would just amplify their objections based on other reasons (parking, traffic, the teams aren't good, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. This was never about the arena itself. What Ted wants (and almost got) was the ability to get a cut of the money that Wiz & Caps fans spend at restaurants, bars, and other miscellaneous retail vendors before and after the game (which Ted would be able to get because these would be built within the PY development that Monumental would control). Effectively, this is about him internalizing the positive economic externalities that arena traffic generates for the surrounding community. So, a very healthy chunk of all the economic benefits that are trumpeted by Monumental's studies would have gone right into Ted's pocket.

So, Ted wants someone else to pay for a new arena in PY, wants to take a cut of the action on the surrounding businesses, and otherwise wants to control the entire surrounding neighborhood. I guess he must be a billionaire to be that arrogant.

Bingo!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

The problem isn't that he wants an entertainment district, the problem is that he wants tax payers to subsidize it

I'm not sure that's the problem that people have with it. I think it's the loudest reason, but I guarantee that if Leonsis came back today and said "fine, I'll pay for the whole thing myself" most people yelling now would just amplify their objections based on other reasons (parking, traffic, the teams aren't good, etc.)

I think a move is bad for the region and frankly, I think ticket sales would suffer significantly. I am not a Virginia resident so don't care about the state finances, though there would be no need for legislation at the state level if Ted were to finance this himself. If it were that good a deal, he would just announce it and move forward. The fact is, it isn't a good deal which is why he wants the Virginia taxpayers to fund it rather than the private banks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

Which is interesting since the last time I checked, Ted controlled the Capital One Arena, the Baltimore arena, the George Mason arena and the Entertainment complex in Congress Heights. Plenty of venues to hold events all across the region. Sure he doesn't have an outdoor venue, but with Jiffy Lube Live and Merriwether Post along with Wolf Trap, there are already three venues that can hold 10,000-15,000 which is normal for those places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

He's only saying that to try and justify the move while conning DC into still paying for the upgrades. It's the same thing he was saying about the Mystics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

Which is interesting since the last time I checked, Ted controlled the Capital One Arena, the Baltimore arena, the George Mason arena and the Entertainment complex in Congress Heights. Plenty of venues to hold events all across the region. Sure he doesn't have an outdoor venue, but with Jiffy Lube Live and Merriwether Post along with Wolf Trap, there are already three venues that can hold 10,000-15,000 which is normal for those places.

Question whether demand even exists for another concert venue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

Which is interesting since the last time I checked, Ted controlled the Capital One Arena, the Baltimore arena, the George Mason arena and the Entertainment complex in Congress Heights. Plenty of venues to hold events all across the region. Sure he doesn't have an outdoor venue, but with Jiffy Lube Live and Merriwether Post along with Wolf Trap, there are already three venues that can hold 10,000-15,000 which is normal for those places.

Accessible by car and not much else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena?

Nothing. The initial lease expires in 2027, so Ted either needs to re-up, and he is asking for improvements which the city has pledged $500M oir he needs a new place for his teams to play.

The arena itself is fine and has had numerous city financed improvements over the 25 years it has been occupied.

This. The entire issue for Ted is that his sweetheart lease with the city of DC expires in 2027. He's been paying a below-market rent this entire time for the ground under the arena according to a formula. The final annual rent for the land will be around $900K per year in 2026. After that, the contract is up and DC gets to renegotiate rent payments with Monumental.

It's actually kinda crazy that DC is offering him $500M to improve the arena. When does your landlord offer you money to upgrade the place you rent? Never, of course.

More than anything, I think Ted is psychologically triggered by being powerless in 2027 when the lease expires. He will then have to negotiate with DC from a position of weakness and the current political environment in cities are not friendly to billionaire sports owners. It's not the same as 25 years ago when a billionaire could get a subsidized stadium and buy off all the local pols. There's a lot more class consciousness and scrutiny over where tax dollars are flowing.

Pollen, Ted's supposed mentor, paid for most of the original MCI Center's costs. Ted takes a different view on who should spend money on a new arena.

Leonsis also wants to create an entertainment destination under control of Monumental and he wants to make a lot more money off the entire place as an attraction. It would have restaurants, sports bars, other entertainment and many, many ways for him to make way more money. So, it's not about the current arena. It's about him building an entertainment attraction.

The problem is that what he wants to build is not actually great for Virginia either. It is going to cost many taxpayers a lot of money and only a small fraction of those taxpayers will receive any benefit from the venue. It is a net cost and an expensive one at that, for the small population that goes to sport venues and sporting events vs the rest of the state tax payers. Considering how poor the rest of Virginia is compared to the northern Virginia suburbanites, that's literally robbing the poor to pay the rich.

This fan couldn't care less about an entertainment district. I attend a Wizards game to attend a Wizards game. This pitch is bizzarre. Ted has stated that, with Caps/Wizards games, Capital One Arena has too many restrictions to hold other events, so freeing up Capital One by moving the teams will allow Capital One to attract other entertainment events.

Which is interesting since the last time I checked, Ted controlled the Capital One Arena, the Baltimore arena, the George Mason arena and the Entertainment complex in Congress Heights. Plenty of venues to hold events all across the region. Sure he doesn't have an outdoor venue, but with Jiffy Lube Live and Merriwether Post along with Wolf Trap, there are already three venues that can hold 10,000-15,000 which is normal for those places.

Another outdoor venue for bands. But I guess the added attraction here will be the airplanes landing and taking off from Reagan. Brilliant!