Arrogance killed the Alexandria arena.
Washington Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis thought there would be a hero’s welcome across the river. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrongly believes he has enough power to make the Virginia legislature rubber stamp a deal. Plenty of other rich folks who would get richer with the new arena congratulated themselves on how smart they were at a premature announcement.
The rich and powerful can be stupid, too.
Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it, and Leonsis, Youngkin and Co. earned Fs. They repeated the failed Washington Redskins plan for a stadium on the exact same site 32 years ago.
Everyone forgot the Richmond legislature doesn’t like funding major projects on the Northern Virginia border. It has always been pro-southern state. It only took hours for Senate Finance and Appropriations committee chair Louise Lucas to call any prospective bill DOA, tweeting, “Do I have dumb… written across my forehead?”
In their arrogance, power brokers forgot the first rule of stadium building – announce nothing before a written deal with state house leaders like Lucas. Find out what they want to back the deal first. It’s how politics works. By making Lucas look insignificant, Leonsis and Youngkin suffered a fatal smack upside the head by the 80-year-old politician.
We’re entering a new age of stadium building, where the public opposes excessive funding of billionaire playgrounds. It was one thing 30 years ago when the Redskins were worth $250 million and needed $70 million in Maryland funding for infrastructure. That deal only needed the team to agree to spend 10 summers in Frostburg, located in state senate leader Cas Taylor’s district, for training camp. (Snyder broke the deal after five.)
Leonsis never made that deal. Didn’t line up state house support. Believed a Republican governor could strongarm a Democratic statehouse.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
The good news – Leonsis has a year to make peace with Lucas, revise his figures, and decide if Alexandria still works. He can also look east to the RFK site or spend the mayor’s $500 million offer to fix the Capital One Arena. That the Commanders are now eyeing RFK as their future home may be troublesome, but there’s room for both if teams are willing to pay more.
It’s always fun watching rich guys lose. Washingtonians spent eight months celebrating Dan Snyder’s pending sale of the Commanders. Now it’s Leonsis’ turn to get roasted. Quite frankly, it’s well deserved after the Wiz have fallen to the NBA’s worst record.
Smart people can make the Alexandria deal work. Arrogant ones can’t.