Well, that didn't take long. This press release just landed in my inbox:
Alexandria, VA – The National Consumers League (NCL) and Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) today urged the Virginia General Assembly and the Alexandria City Council to reject Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s plan to offer billions of taxpayer dollars to Monumental Sports Entertainment for the construction of a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. Governor Youngkin’s proposal would reportedly require the General Assembly to authorize the issuance of $1.4 billion, and potentially as much as $2 billion, in public debt. In addition, the citizens of Alexandria are being asked to contribute as much as $106 million in additional funds. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, would be required to invest $403 million, potentially less than 20 percent of the project’s estimated cost.
There is widespread consensus among economists that subsidizing sports stadiums almost never yields a net economic benefit for the local community and is instead a burden to local governments and taxpayers. Despite this, community after community continues to offer enormous taxpayer-funded incentives to professional sports teams. The Monumental Sports Entertainment deal is no different.
“This is a terrible deal for Virginia taxpayers, Wizards and Capitals fans, and residents of the surrounding community,” said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League. “Communities across America continually fall under the spell of billionaire sports team owners who promise the moon in exchange for billions in public money. Our elected leaders must not allow Virginians to become the next suckers in this shell game.”
“Fans love their teams, and they hate when they leave the city. That doesn’t mean fans like seeing their hard-earned tax dollars get spent on lavish sports arenas,” said Brian Hess, Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition, lifelong Northern Virginian, and avid DC sports fan. “We have long opposed public money being used for sports arenas, and have even called for fan-friendly conditions – the Danifesto – to be included in the handouts. However, even those conditions may not be enough to tip the scales on just how bad a deal this is. In no uncertain terms, lawmakers should vote ‘no.’”
NCL/SFC’s #MonumentalDisaster campaign launched with a petition found on SFC’s website: https://www.sportsfans.org/open_letter_to_virginia_lawmakers. Here, fans can fill out a form and sign the open letter which will be delivered to lawmakers. NCL/SFC will also partner with local activists who have already started opposing this deal. Anyone can join the fight by signing the open letter and posting on social media with #MonumentalDisaster.
I completely agree with your assessment. It’s not about sport but about real estate development. I’m not sure how $400 million will cover the arena, offices, studio, etc and if another 6,000 seat entertainment venue is needed. DC is not NYC. What will happen to the Entertainment & Sport Arena if the Mystics move to CapOne? The city will also be in the hook for that facility. MSE moved the Mystics out for a smaller arena and now say CapOne will be a women’s sport venue? What other sports beside women’s basketball? Much praise was given to VA Tech women’s basketball but don’t think they should play 4 hours away from the main campus. Just a few thoughts. Let’s see what the residents say and if the funding gets passed. It will be difficult to widen roads in that area. I remember Jack Kent Cooks big announcement about moving Redskins to VA that did not happen as well as State Farm Field in LA. I look forward to following the next steps in the process.
All good questions here and definitely pieces to follow as things progress. The only VA resident reactions I've read so far read as "dubious but not opposed" but we'll see as time marches on. I only shudder to think about how congested that area will be in 5-6 years if Amazon HQ sticks to its original scope AND this development gets going. It's already bad. (And as you point out, that will probably be a big issue.)
As for CapOne, the two teams leave an 82-day event hole to fill and my guess is that no amount of Mystics/Georgetown/other university/concerts/shows/etc will compare to the reliability of two major league sports teams. Especially for the surrounding business.
Well, that didn't take long. This press release just landed in my inbox:
Alexandria, VA – The National Consumers League (NCL) and Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) today urged the Virginia General Assembly and the Alexandria City Council to reject Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s plan to offer billions of taxpayer dollars to Monumental Sports Entertainment for the construction of a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. Governor Youngkin’s proposal would reportedly require the General Assembly to authorize the issuance of $1.4 billion, and potentially as much as $2 billion, in public debt. In addition, the citizens of Alexandria are being asked to contribute as much as $106 million in additional funds. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, would be required to invest $403 million, potentially less than 20 percent of the project’s estimated cost.
There is widespread consensus among economists that subsidizing sports stadiums almost never yields a net economic benefit for the local community and is instead a burden to local governments and taxpayers. Despite this, community after community continues to offer enormous taxpayer-funded incentives to professional sports teams. The Monumental Sports Entertainment deal is no different.
“This is a terrible deal for Virginia taxpayers, Wizards and Capitals fans, and residents of the surrounding community,” said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League. “Communities across America continually fall under the spell of billionaire sports team owners who promise the moon in exchange for billions in public money. Our elected leaders must not allow Virginians to become the next suckers in this shell game.”
“Fans love their teams, and they hate when they leave the city. That doesn’t mean fans like seeing their hard-earned tax dollars get spent on lavish sports arenas,” said Brian Hess, Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition, lifelong Northern Virginian, and avid DC sports fan. “We have long opposed public money being used for sports arenas, and have even called for fan-friendly conditions – the Danifesto – to be included in the handouts. However, even those conditions may not be enough to tip the scales on just how bad a deal this is. In no uncertain terms, lawmakers should vote ‘no.’”
NCL/SFC’s #MonumentalDisaster campaign launched with a petition found on SFC’s website: https://www.sportsfans.org/open_letter_to_virginia_lawmakers. Here, fans can fill out a form and sign the open letter which will be delivered to lawmakers. NCL/SFC will also partner with local activists who have already started opposing this deal. Anyone can join the fight by signing the open letter and posting on social media with #MonumentalDisaster.
I completely agree with your assessment. It’s not about sport but about real estate development. I’m not sure how $400 million will cover the arena, offices, studio, etc and if another 6,000 seat entertainment venue is needed. DC is not NYC. What will happen to the Entertainment & Sport Arena if the Mystics move to CapOne? The city will also be in the hook for that facility. MSE moved the Mystics out for a smaller arena and now say CapOne will be a women’s sport venue? What other sports beside women’s basketball? Much praise was given to VA Tech women’s basketball but don’t think they should play 4 hours away from the main campus. Just a few thoughts. Let’s see what the residents say and if the funding gets passed. It will be difficult to widen roads in that area. I remember Jack Kent Cooks big announcement about moving Redskins to VA that did not happen as well as State Farm Field in LA. I look forward to following the next steps in the process.
All good questions here and definitely pieces to follow as things progress. The only VA resident reactions I've read so far read as "dubious but not opposed" but we'll see as time marches on. I only shudder to think about how congested that area will be in 5-6 years if Amazon HQ sticks to its original scope AND this development gets going. It's already bad. (And as you point out, that will probably be a big issue.)
As for CapOne, the two teams leave an 82-day event hole to fill and my guess is that no amount of Mystics/Georgetown/other university/concerts/shows/etc will compare to the reliability of two major league sports teams. Especially for the surrounding business.