The Junks heard from Andrew Macdonald, the founder of the Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yard, on Wednesday, and wanted to give equal time to the Monumental side – and that was Jim Van Stone, MSE’s President of Business Operations and Chief Commercial Officer.
Van Stone had heard Macdonald’s segment, and while they’ve never spoken, he does understand that there is opposition to the plan.
“I haven't personally met Andrew, and I think we appreciate and respect everyone's opinion, but, you know, we're really bullish on the opportunity,” JVS said. “Certainly facts are a stubborn thing and we think this is a game changing opportunity, not only for our fans, but for the market. It talks about the regionalism of what we think we represent here and the overall DMV. We think it’s going to be game-changing to not only for the state of Virginia and city of Alexandria, but I think for the region as a whole, from a sports fan standpoint.”
Macdonald seemed excited at all the roadblocks that might kill the deal, but on the other side, Van Stone was excited by the one win the project DID get Tuesday when a sports authority bill passed the House of Delegates.
“The vote in the legislature, we were very happy with the win yesterday in that process,” JVS said. “We feel really good about the overall project. Our government relations people have spent a ton of time down in Richmond, we've worked with a lot of key constituents, and the city of Alexandria has been a fantastic partner for us in this process. We think we're just really gaining momentum, and I think the most important thing for us is really to make sure over the next few weeks that we really educate the greater community on the impact of what this project is going to bring, not only to Northern Virginia, but the Greater Washington region.”
What does Van Stone say about the parking and transportation issues that are a crux of the opposition’s platform?
“That is the biggest thing we’re focused on, and the great thing is that we've got a five-year runway before the project actually opens and the arena opens. There is a huge commitment, not only from the city and state, but us at Monumental and our partners in JBG Smith - transportation is going to be critical, and we've got really great experts doing studies and analysis for us. There is a really great runway to make it as easy and convenient as possible, and we’re gonna have 2,200 parking spots in a block radius of the arena. Between that and the Metro stop, the public transportation and ride shares, there is a going to be a tremendous amount of effort and focus on that, and we think the transportation piece is gonna be smooth and easy. That was a key decision maker for us. We wanted to make sure that getting to the campus was as convenient as it possibly could be for our fans. Ted has always talked about the driveway to driveway experience for our guests. That matters in the overall experience and we wanna make it smooth and easy.”
At the same time, though, Van Stone and Monumental understand the arguments of the issue.
“There's going to be a lot of focus on the transportation piece of it, and at the same time, I think we wanna be respectful as we can; we're gonna be a new member of the neighborhood, and we want to do things right for the community and the surrounding areas,” Van Stone said. “There could be possibilities of new roads or exits off a variety of different thoroughfares tht could happen in the process. The location of the arena is going to be three blocks in from Route 1, hugging basically the GW Parkway, so there are a lot ways within the landscape to really make it a lot more efficient for guests coming into the building and arena. That's critical for us, and public transportation is a big part of that. There’s a big commitment from all parties to make sure that that's a primary focus.”
Take a listen to Van Stone’s entire segment on the arena logistics above!