Wizards and Caps could be moving to Potomac Yard

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If people want to go to a game they will go, it doesn’t matter if it’s in va. Hockey fans are raving and it seems like most come from southern Maryland already.

I can't ever see a scenario where I go to a game there. If you gave me free courtside tickets on a weekend, maybe; otherwise, nothing is worth the headache of getting to and from Potomac Yards from Bethesda/Potomac/CC

Agree 100%. How to piss off a large and long-standing portion of your dedicated fan base! If Ted is leaving DC, then DC Council should start taxing the teams. No reason not to.

Four of the ten richest counties in the country (including #1 and #2) are in NOVA. I think Ted will be just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If people want to go to a game they will go, it doesn’t matter if it’s in va. Hockey fans are raving and it seems like most come from southern Maryland already.

I can't ever see a scenario where I go to a game there. If you gave me free courtside tickets on a weekend, maybe; otherwise, nothing is worth the headache of getting to and from Potomac Yards from Bethesda/Potomac/CC

Agree 100%. How to piss off a large and long-standing portion of your dedicated fan base! If Ted is leaving DC, then DC Council should start taxing the teams. No reason not to.

Four of the ten richest counties in the country (including #1 and #2) are in NOVA. I think Ted will be just fine.

Rich counties doesn't mean it is easy to make game time at an inaccessible location.

[Anonymous]

The Detroit Pistons still had a huge following when they moved to Detroit’s exburbs in Auburn Hills. The Caps and Wizards will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If people want to go to a game they will go, it doesn’t matter if it’s in va. Hockey fans are raving and it seems like most come from southern Maryland already.

I can't ever see a scenario where I go to a game there. If you gave me free courtside tickets on a weekend, maybe; otherwise, nothing is worth the headache of getting to and from Potomac Yards from Bethesda/Potomac/CC

Agree 100%. How to piss off a large and long-standing portion of your dedicated fan base! If Ted is leaving DC, then DC Council should start taxing the teams. No reason not to.

Four of the ten richest counties in the country (including #1 and #2) are in NOVA. I think Ted will be just fine.

Rich counties doesn't mean it is easy to make game time at an inaccessible location.

At least my car will be there when the game is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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They clearly didn’t think through many critical aspects of this project.

I doubt you or the Twidiot have ever been to an outdoor concert. The airport is likely to call and ask them to turn it down so they can hear themselves in the control tower.

They re-route traffic at LGA for the US Open, which is farther than this is to DCA.

Because the grunting of the players is too loud?

Planes taking off are very loud. 140+ decibels loud.

You think that is going to attract artists?

I suppose I will ask. Do the people in the current shopping plaza have trouble talking to each other with all the plane noise?

No, not at all. I live here, and was just shopping there on Saturday. The plane noise is a non-issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They clearly didn’t think through many critical aspects of this project.

I doubt you or the Twidiot have ever been to an outdoor concert. The airport is likely to call and ask them to turn it down so they can hear themselves in the control tower.

They re-route traffic at LGA for the US Open, which is farther than this is to DCA.

Because the grunting of the players is too loud?

Planes taking off are very loud. 140+ decibels loud.

You think that is going to attract artists?

I suppose I will ask. Do the people in the current shopping plaza have trouble talking to each other with all the plane noise?

Does anyone actually hang out outside there?

There is a kids park directly below the metro, so yes.

Do parents really take their kid to play at a SuperFund site?

Have you never been to Potomac Yard? There are several playgrounds and a splash pad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Detroit Pistons still had a huge following when they moved to Detroit’s exburbs in Auburn Hills. The Caps and Wizards will be fine.

That is because they moves closer to their fans at a time that the city population was shrinking dramatically. Where do the Pistons play now? Because that would be the more important parallel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If people want to go to a game they will go, it doesn’t matter if it’s in va. Hockey fans are raving and it seems like most come from southern Maryland already.

I can't ever see a scenario where I go to a game there. If you gave me free courtside tickets on a weekend, maybe; otherwise, nothing is worth the headache of getting to and from Potomac Yards from Bethesda/Potomac/CC

Agree 100%. How to piss off a large and long-standing portion of your dedicated fan base! If Ted is leaving DC, then DC Council should start taxing the teams. No reason not to.

Four of the ten richest counties in the country (including #1 and #2) are in NOVA. I think Ted will be just fine.

Rich counties doesn't mean it is easy to make game time at an inaccessible location.

At least my car will be there when the game is over.

Yup, you will still be on Rt 1 trying to get to the game, when the game is over, you can just make a u-turn and head home, having never made it past Crystal City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised.
It was reported years ago that a lot of Potomac Yards was going to be redeveloped in the coming years. Despite this, new construction and refurbishment continued.

Years ago they tried to build St. James in Alexandria City. It was supported by many residents but at the last minute despite all kinds of reports from the right agency, and buy in from City officials, some environmental study or maybe it was some long ago forgotten historical situation prevented it. I would not be surprised if the same thing doesn't happen here.

All of the land comprising Potomac Yard used to be a rail switching station and rail yard, so the ground was contaminated from trail chemicals, etc. Developers had to significantly remediate that land, including taking the dirt and burning it in an incinerator. I worked on the deal to turn the prior soccer fields and airport car rental lots into the residential park of Potomac Yards.

The part for this project would include all of PY shopping center, the strip mall.

So it would fit on top of the current Potomac Yards shopping area? With or without the area of the movie theater? I hope they will offer some of the shops/businesses space to open back up…

[Anonymous]

Let's see. If you live in Loudon or outer Fairfax, you are driving across NoVa during rush hour. What fun? Or, maybe, you decide to take the Metro, meaning that you are heading into DC (near Capital One Arena) before heading back out to Alexandria. How to make the trip longer for NoVa residents. Great move!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not surprised.
It was reported years ago that a lot of Potomac Yards was going to be redeveloped in the coming years. Despite this, new construction and refurbishment continued.

Years ago they tried to build St. James in Alexandria City. It was supported by many residents but at the last minute despite all kinds of reports from the right agency, and buy in from City officials, some environmental study or maybe it was some long ago forgotten historical situation prevented it. I would not be surprised if the same thing doesn't happen here.

All of the land comprising Potomac Yard used to be a rail switching station and rail yard, so the ground was contaminated from trail chemicals, etc. Developers had to significantly remediate that land, including taking the dirt and burning it in an incinerator. I worked on the deal to turn the prior soccer fields and airport car rental lots into the residential park of Potomac Yards.

The part for this project would include all of PY shopping center, the strip mall.

So it would fit on top of the current Potomac Yards shopping area? With or without the area of the movie theater? I hope they will offer some of the shops/businesses space to open back up…

Have you not been to Potomac Yards in years? The movie theater is LONG gone. They’re building the Virginia Tech building there. And in between that and the metro station would be the arena. JBG would sell that parcel to the city, the city would lease the land to Leonsis.

The shopping center would be redeveloped. It isn’t clear if the Target would be demolished or just the parking lot would get developed. I’ve heard both versions. So all the big box stores could be gone or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If people want to go to a game they will go, it doesn’t matter if it’s in va. Hockey fans are raving and it seems like most come from southern Maryland already.

I can't ever see a scenario where I go to a game there. If you gave me free courtside tickets on a weekend, maybe; otherwise, nothing is worth the headache of getting to and from Potomac Yards from Bethesda/Potomac/CC

Agree 100%. How to piss off a large and long-standing portion of your dedicated fan base! If Ted is leaving DC, then DC Council should start taxing the teams. No reason not to.

Four of the ten richest counties in the country (including #1 and #2) are in NOVA. I think Ted will be just fine.

4/20 for Va. 3/20 for MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Abe Pollin trusted Leonsis. Pollin moved the team into DC to help the city. Leonsis is pulling a Dan Snyder and will be cursed with a losing franchise. How you can’t build a NBA , NHL juggernaut in DC with no teams in Maryland and Virginia shows you are a loser. It’s probably the most massive concentrated uncovered market by one team in each sport in the country. Leonsis is a fatter, sloppier version of Snyder.

Leonsis and Snyder are all moving their operations to VA for tax reasons. No estate tax in VA and these guys are entering the final decade of their lives. This is all an estate tax play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meh. PY is still in the core DC metro area. It isn’t like it’s eastern Purceville, VA or Clarksburg, MD. It will still be Metro accessible too. Big economic loss for DC though, but it’s government doesn’t really care about businesses or their patrons.

I think you are underestimating how much longer it will take people who aren't in the Shirlington-Alexandira area to access Potomac Yards.

Gallery Place literally sits on 3 metro lines and is a block from two others. That is a far cry from being on the edge of two lines with a solid 25 minuts of travel time to get to the other lines with a transfer. Add to it the lack of road capacity at Potomac Yards and lack of ability for expansion. The Parkway cannot be widened and they cannot add an exit there to the arena area, so drivers will need to come down Route 1 through Crystal City or else come back on Rt 1 from the Parkway south. It is a very constrained area from a regional perspective, which is very different from Gallery Place, particularly when you consider that people driving to downtown were usually going against rush hour traffic, whereas people going to Potomac Yards will be mixed in with Rush Hour traffic.

I just don't see people from NW DC, Montgomery County, Howard County and the parts of PG near College Park and Hyattsville making the trek. Sure they may be some from the Oxen Hill area who can take the Beltway and come north, but that isn't a huge part of the game-supporting population.

+1

It is extremely inaccessible to most people in the DC area. Unless you live right there or on the blue/yellow line it's going to be a PITA to get there. Traffic today is already a huge mess (w/a good % still WFH) and there just aren't that many options for improving it because of physical constraints.

Maybe they can do buses from some off-site parking areas in an industrial area off 395. They aren't getting 30k more workers + the thousands of sports/event people in there easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's see. If you live in Loudon or outer Fairfax, you are driving across NoVa during rush hour. What fun? Or, maybe, you decide to take the Metro, meaning that you are heading into DC (near Capital One Arena) before heading back out to Alexandria. How to make the trip longer for NoVa residents. Great move!

And Va residents in Stafford will look forward to driving 95N and thru Alexandria as the Pentagon empties. Should be fun.