ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The proposal to move the Wizards and Capitals out of D.C. and into Alexandria is still a big topic of conversation. A virtual town hall allowing Virginia residents to ask questions about the future home of Monumental Sports sparked major interest Monday night.
So much interest, in fact, that the virtual Zoom meeting had to be switched over to a webinar, to allow for everyone to join in.
It was hosted by the Del Ray Citizens Association. At the start of the town hall they announced that they had received more than 150 questions and had hundreds of people registered to attend.
Senator Adam Ebbins, Delegate Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Mayor Justin Wilson, and Stephanie Landrum, with the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, were all on the call.
They stressed that this is really just the beginning of a very long process and stressed that this is not a done deal.
"I would jump in and say I don't think this is a done deal yet it still has to go through the General Assembly, city council votes," said Delegate Bennett-Parker.
Last month, Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO and founder Ted Leonsis announced plans for a massive entertainment campus in northern Virginia, the centerpiece of which would be a new home arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals.
Since the announcement, Virginia lawmakers have pointed at the potential economic benefits of the proposed project.
At the end of December, the city of Alexandria released a summary of a study. According to that study, the more than $2 billion development could bring an estimated 30,000 permanent jobs to the Commonwealth. That total does not include construction jobs needed in order to build the massive complex.
It also predicts around $7.9 billion in annual revenue across the state.
"It is an opportunity for multiple years of commercial development and investment and revenue diversification for the city,” said Alexandria Mayor, Justin Wilson.
Tuesday night, they fielded question after question. Questions about the economic impact, to the environmental impact to how it will impact quality of life for Alexandria residents. The city says they're looking at every option.
"From big scale regional improvements on 395 and 495, to hyperlocal improvements in protecting cut through traffic and parking and then some bigger ideas like adding a water taxi connectivity on four mile run," said Stephanie Landrum, with the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership.
"The bottom line is we have to ask ourselves, can traffic be managed or improved or will it become unacceptable so this study is really important and I'll be looking at it closely before I make my final determinations," Senator Ebbin said.