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Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Several Biglaw firms have offices in Tyson’s when they also have offices in DC. Do they also have offices in Rockville off of 270, no.

I mean who cares. I have no clue which law firms you're referring to, but the biggest firms wouldn't risk having only a NoVA office. And by the way, firms like Hogan, Ballard, and DLA have Baltimore offices, which I'm sure allows them to capture clients from a variety of MD suburbs.

The point is, all the major law firms know that they need a DC address because having only a VA or MD address would make them irrelevant to lots of clients. NoVA is an economic engine for nothing. For example, government contractors might choose NoVA or the MD burbs because of proximity to DC and federal agencies, but that just shows that the economic engine is DC.

Anonymous wrote:Some Virginia lawmakers are coming out against using taxpayer money to subsidize Leonsis

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/va-lawmakers-raise-red-flag-on-spending-state-money-on-new-wizards-capitals-arena

Never underestimate the power of NIMBY in Virginia

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Several Biglaw firms have offices in Tyson’s when they also have offices in DC. Do they also have offices in Rockville off of 270, no.

I mean who cares. I have no clue which law firms you're referring to, but the biggest firms wouldn't risk having only a NoVA office. And by the way, firms like Hogan, Ballard, and DLA have Baltimore offices, which I'm sure allows them to capture clients from a variety of MD suburbs.

The point is, all the major law firms know that they need a DC address because having only a VA or MD address would make them irrelevant to lots of clients. NoVA is an economic engine for nothing. For example, government contractors might choose NoVA or the MD burbs because of proximity to DC and federal agencies, but that just shows that the economic engine is DC.

DP. There is a huge, non-defense tech/telecomm presence out along Dulles toll road.

Anonymous wrote:Some Virginia lawmakers are coming out against using taxpayer money to subsidize Leonsis

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/va-lawmakers-raise-red-flag-on-spending-state-money-on-new-wizards-capitals-arena

Never underestimate the power of NIMBY in Virginia

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Several Biglaw firms have offices in Tyson’s when they also have offices in DC. Do they also have offices in Rockville off of 270, no.

I mean who cares. I have no clue which law firms you're referring to, but the biggest firms wouldn't risk having only a NoVA office. And by the way, firms like Hogan, Ballard, and DLA have Baltimore offices, which I'm sure allows them to capture clients from a variety of MD suburbs.

The point is, all the major law firms know that they need a DC address because having only a VA or MD address would make them irrelevant to lots of clients. NoVA is an economic engine for nothing. For example, government contractors might choose NoVA or the MD burbs because of proximity to DC and federal agencies, but that just shows that the economic engine is DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Several Biglaw firms have offices in Tyson’s when they also have offices in DC. Do they also have offices in Rockville off of 270, no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

The I-270 corridor is huge in the biotech space. And of course all the major law firms and lobbying shops have their offices in downtown DC, not in VA, and if there are any industries that drive the bulk of the jobs in this area, it's law and politics.

I guess VA has Amazon, but I have no clue how that is an "economic engine" for this area. Also, I can also see a Microstrategy building when I make the mistake of going to Tysons mall, and I guess Microstrategy is all-in on crypto, which is an economic engine for nothing. Enjoy the hellscape of NoVA -- I have no clue why it is so ugly and what companies occupy all those ugly buildings, but you sure seem to enjoy it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

I hate to break it to you, but absolutely no one cares about Maryland. The days of MD & VA being on somewhat equal terms are long gone, and aren't coming back. VA is the economic engine driving the DMV. At this point, MD is just an unimportant suburb.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This deal is not done, so DC has some hope. Lets pressure the Mayor and DC Council to move aggressively and quickly. Both are important.

Or they can sit back and let the Virginia House of Delegates reject a bad deal, and maybe have a staffer take Teddy’s call when he comes crawling back.

That is not likley if Alexandria is on board.

If I were an Alexandria taxpayer, I would be furious over this.

As an Alexandria taxpayer I like this. City of Alexandria needs to diversify its tax revenue and this will help. Original plans for Potomac Yard envisioned more office buildings in that section, but there’s little demand for new office space and Alexandria is leading the country in office to residential conversions. This whole entertainment district will generate a lot of tax revenue for Alexandria—much more than the empty lots that are currently there.

+1 And we need the money. More restaurants are closing and the associations have left. It’s nice to have to have a tax revenue stream coming from something other than real estate taxes.

The idea that this MD resident will head to PY to eat a meal or watch a performance is zero. I have been to National Harbour exactly once since its opening, as it has no attraction to me either. The good news of course is that I will have more money to spend because I will not be attending Caps games or an occasional Wizards games.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Five-plus acres to redevelop in the heart of DC sounds great for missing middle housing!

Somehow townhouses don't seem optimal at the arena site.

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Anonymous wrote:Honestly, none of the things people are raising here as very valid reasons this plan should fail — the costs, the flooding, the traffic, etc. — will wind up mattering. Youngkin and Leonsis want it. It'll go through. I wish it wouldn't, as I'd like to see the teams stay in downtown D.C., but I don't really see the point in hoping against reality.

Youngkin doesn't control the Alexandria city council, nor does he have any goodwill with the state assembly.

There are plenty in office who have begun to question the deal and as the facts trickle out, it gets worse and worse for the voters/taxpayers.

Lots of bad things for voters and taxpayers happen all the time, though. Especially when stadium deals are involved. Again, I would love to be proven wrong, but as a D.C. resident (and therefore someone with no ability to influence the decision at all), I am not going to bother to hope this one turns into a surprise.

The taxpayers are likely already being pushed into a having to cough up a minimum of $2 billion in taxes (and likely much more) to pay for building the stadium and whatever other ongoing subsidies. They should have some say in that. Beyond that, what else do they get, and using realistic numbers? So local restaurants and businesses might get more visitors? I don't think that alone makes up for it. Did local business opportunity in SW DC suddenly skyrocket and the community become flush with money when Audi Field opened? Not exactly. And, it also brought a huge amount of traffic congestion (like complete standstill, 40 minutes to travel a single block, god forbid someone has a heart attack because an ambulance will never make it there in time) and other issues during the more popular events. Who exactly pays? Just Alexandria? Does Youngkin chip in state funds and everyone in VA pays? Is there a bond issue? And why are we subsidizing billionaires anyhow? If these sports teams are making enough money to pay their players millions, why are we having to pay for a stadium for them to play in?

https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/washington-capitals/yearly/cap/
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/washington-wizards/yearly/cap/

https://www.forbes.com/nhl-valuations/list/#tab:overall
https://www.forbes.com/lists/nba-valuations/?sh=3cf3254f6982

Why are they crying poverty and demanding subsidies at all?

Taxpayers are being punked on all of this. NBA and NHL are massive multi-billion dollar industries. We shouldn't be subsidizing them.