MonumentalALX.com
More than 400 residents flooded a Del Ray Citizens Association (DRCA) meeting Wednesday night to hear Mayor Justin Wilson answer questions about Wednesday’s Monumental Sports and Entertainment announcement.
Early Wednesday, local and state officials announced plans to build a new professional sports arena at Potomac Yard and develop a new Entertainment District. In addition to the arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals professional sports teams (as well as other concerts and shows), the new neighborhood will include restaurants, public spaces, a performing arts venue, retail, hotels and public space. Construction could start in 2025 and the arena could open in 2028.
While the arena could be a boon to the local economy, a number of residents are already voicing concerns about traffic and the potential increase in crime.
Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Protesters outside the site of the planned Monumental Sports and Entertainment arena.
A handful of residents protested outside the announcement tent in Potomac Yard Wednesday morning, holding up signs that said, “Houses not hockey!” and opposing stadium financing. The online network NextDoor and various Facebook groups have gotten hundreds of comments from residents — some in support of the new arena and neighborhood development, but more residents against.
Some residents have questioned the secrecy around arena planning, as the announcement came as a surprise to most residents. However, the secrecy is not without precedent in Alexandria or elsewhere, as major business deals like this are often started behind closed doors. (For example, few people knew about the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus before the official announcement, and few people knew that Inova would anchor the Landmark redevelopment with a new hospital prior to that announcement.)
At the outset of the DRCA meeting, Mayor Justin Wilson acknowledged the surprise factor. He said this was due to the “nature of competitive economic development initiatives” and said that “when we are negotiations regarding city resources, in order to not be negotiating against ourselves, it has to be confidential in the lead up.”
Now is the time for communication with the community, feedback and collaboration on the project, and “we are going to spend the next year doing that,” Wilson said.
Financing the New Entertainment District
The Small Area Plan developed years ago for the north end of Potomac Yard envisioned high-density and mixed-use. Wilson said the city initially was very cautious about considering this particular development, and now the city needs to hear from residents to ensure the plan is viable. Wilson is expecting to hear a lot about traffic, city services, infrastructure and more.
The City of Alexandria “thoroughly investigated the financial feasibility of this project before getting to this point,” Wilson said. An independent study the city commissioned will be released to the public in the future.
“I have heard quite a bit over the last 24 hours about concerns that we are providing a billionaire with taxpayer money. That is not what is happening here,” Wilson said, referring to Monumental Sports and Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis.
Wilson emphasized that the project is not just the arena, as the project will include the headquarters for Monumental Sports and Entertainment, a performing arts venue, hotel, retail and more.
A state entity will be the owner of the arena and land. The debt to build the arena will be paid by private funding from Monumental Sports and Entertainment ($400 million upfront and ongoing rent), and by new tax revenue that the city and state receives.
Additional financial details will be coming soon from city officials.
Later in the DRCA meeting, Wilson said there will be a 40-year lease with Monumental for the arena, and the structure of the deal will include an ongoing fund for modernization of the facilities over time “so we don’t end up in a situation where it becomes no longer a viable thing,” Wilson said.
Traffic
In the 2022-23 season, the Washington Wizards hosted an average of 17,300 attendees per home game. The Washington Capitals averaged 18,500 attendees per home game that year.
“The traffic and transportation is probably the biggest unknown here, and we have a lot of work to do on that with the community,” Wilson said, “to both ensure this is a possibility from a transportation perspective and ensure it doesn’t have a negative impact on the neighborhoods we live in,” Wilson said.
The project is designed to be accessed by Metro (rail and bus). There may be new infrastructure investments to connect the Potomac Yard Metro station to the new arena, as well as improvements to Route 1, and ensure the area can handle the volume of people who may attend games and other events.
There may be 2,500 parking spaces underground for the arena. “The intent is to ensure that we do not have people beyond a small core accessing this by vehicle,” Wilson said, noting that the city will continue to push to ensure that parking remains low to force guests to take alternate transportation.
However, residents said they are concerned that sports fans will park in adjacent neighborhoods and walk to the arena. Wilson said that “we’ll have to do a whole series of neighborhood protection things,” including ensuring residents can park near their homes easily and ensuring neighborhoods are not negatively affected.
In terms of safety and security — police, fire and medical — there will be an agreement regarding public safety standards and how the city and regional partners provide service to the site and surrounding communities, Wilson said. “Public safety will be a key component of this,” Wilson said.
Infrastructure
Wilson said that the city would work with developers to “fully ensure that the infrastructure is able to meet the use here,” in regard to sewer and stormwater. He acknowledged this is not a traditional residential and retail use, so there will be more analysis about how the arena affects water infrastructure needs.
In addition, a part of North Potomac Yard is set aside for a new school site, Wilson said, as the arena will catalyze more residential development in the area.
The arena will “provide a catalyst for a lot of housing creation,” Wilson said. There will be committed affordable housing as part of future developments in the north Potomac Yard area.
Wilson also reminded residents, “This is not a final deal.”
More information will be available through MonumentalALX.com as the project progresses.
