Bottom line – Potomac Yard offers more potential in coming years than downtown Washington. That’s why owner Ted Leonsis is moving the Washington Wizards and Capitals to a new arena.
It’s a no brainer.
Washington can’t offer 70 acres for the “clean slate” Leonsis wants for a sports and entertainment district that has become trendy among professional sports teams. Spending $2 billion for a new arena takes more than 160 or so games to justify the expense. Teams are now building whole complexes so fans can eat, drink and enjoy every day of the year.
That couldn’t happen at the Capital One Arena in Penn Quarter. It’s landlocked by government and historic venues. At best, the proposed $500 million offered by the city would put lipstick on a pig with a new entranceway and – dare we dream – a food court.
Shoehorning 9 million square feet into Potomac Yards for an arena along with a performing arts venue, Wiz practice facility, conference center and hotels is daunting. With Reagan National Airport, the Potomac River, Amazon headquarters and even residents surrounding this site, this busy area might be Metro-only accessible.
But Leonsis has always been a visionary since the days of mailing AOL discs that grew the internet into today’s world. He talked of what a sports venue needs in 30 years and Washington wasn’t it.
“Very romantic, but also pragmatic vision that we can’t do anywhere else,” said Leonsis of Potomac Yard.
Now, Leonsis says Capital One Arena isn’t going anywhere when the teams leave probably around 2028. The Washington Mystics will move there. Concerts may still happen, though the new venue would be more attractive to Taylor Swift and Co. I could see the building being sliced up or becoming a casino one day.
Washington has always been a developing city over its two-plus centuries. The FBI building will eventually be emptied and Hotel Harrington just closed. There are plans to transform Pennsylvania Ave. into a more walkable downtown. Capital One can join that movement.
But the best thing for Washington sports is moving to Potomac Yard, which is only four miles from Capital One. We’re not talking Pontiac, Michigan, or even Woodbridge, Va., the location former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder considered for a new stadium.
Speaking of which, the exit of the Caps and Wiz, pending Virginia legislative approval to help fund the complex, definitely increases chances of the Commanders returning to the RFK site. It seems the city has $500 million to assist a sports facility so the bidding begins there. Toss in the land and that’s a fair deal for the Commanders to return to their beloved homeland.
So, are you OK with swapping the Commanders for the Wiz and Caps knowing the latter is only five metro stops away? Are you fine with going to a new arena with an entertainment district versus the declining Penn Quarter with its buskers, bandits and blues musicians on the sidewalks?
Change is always initially resisted, but fans will become accustomed to it. Fans once drove to Landover to see Capital Centre. Now they can ride over to Potomac Yard where the future looks more promising.
Now if only the Wiz wouldn’t stink. Hey, you can always not go to games in Potomac Yard just as easily as downtown.
