WASHINGTON — District of Columbia native Lamar Gray was disappointed when he heard that two more of the teams that he roots for might be leaving the city.
On Monday, Virginia's Major Employment and Investment (MEI) Project Approval Commission held a virtual closed-door meeting to discuss a deal to move the Washington Capitals and Wizards across the Potomac River to Alexandria. While details on the project have not yet been made public, a lawmaker with knowledge of the discussions told WUSA9 that they'd be discussing an incentive package to lure Monumental Sports & Entertainment from D.C. to Virginia.
"Just like the other team, the Commanders left, I’d like to see them come back as well," Gray said.
Sraavya Polisetti agrees. She's lived near Chinatown for the last five years and is concerned about this potential move because of how it will impact her neighborhood.
"I feel mixed feelings about it," she explained, "because I will never not be mad that they kind of destroyed Chinatown by bringing in the arena which took out a lot of businesses."
Gray is a homeowner in D.C. He's concerned about how this decision will impact the District financially.
"The population could dwindle as well," he said, "that could impact a lot of things like property value. Being a homeowner, I’m impacted by that."
Lawmakers say that Capital One Arena would still be used for concerts and college basketball games but Polisetti says that's not enough. She's seen the foot traffic firsthand on game days.
"I live there. I see people at Caps games. It’s the most people I see there and there are Caps games like three times a week," she explained, "Wizards games three times a week, and there are concerts once in a blue moon where that many people come in."
She says the economic impact would be detrimental to the neighborhood.
"That area is already suffering in terms of the businesses that have closed in the last three years especially because of COVID," she said, "so were that to leave DC, they should definitely do something to make up for that."
For fans like Gray, the hope is for some incentive from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to keep D.C.'s teams where they belong.
"I’m hoping that the Mayor works with the ownership and provides them with some money to keep them to stay," he said.