Reply to Wizards and Caps could be moving to Potomac Yard

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can someone please explain to me what's so bad and outdated about the current arena? [/quote]

Nothing. [b]The initial lease expires in 2027,[/b] 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.[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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