Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin's proposal for a new sports arena in Northern Virginia, aimed at hosting the Washington Capitals and Wizards, is under scrutiny due to its financial assumptions. The plan, which relies on over a billion dollars in taxes and fees generated at the facility, includes charging $730 per night for hotel rooms and $75 for parking near Potomac Yard. Critics, including Youngkin's own report, have labeled these forecasts as overly optimistic. The financing plan assumes the arena will host 53 additional events annually and that a luxury hotel will manage to book rooms at historically unprecedented rates. Despite the skepticism, Youngkin is in talks with leaders in the General Assembly to secure approval for funding the arena after the legislature omitted the deal from the state budget. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has criticized the plan, offering a "real deal" in contrast to what she calls a "fantasy deal."
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is still making the case for the arena proposal to bring the Washington Wizards and the Capitals to Alexandria. https://t.co/ungrSfeFsT
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she has a “real deal on the table, not a fantasy deal,” in the days since the Virginia Senate declined approving funding for a proposed Potomac Yard stadium. https://t.co/0cuzPUZ62l
Sen. Scott Surovell told WTOP he encourages Gov. Glenn Youngkin to “compromise” with legislators if he wants the proposed sports arena and entertainment complex to be built in Alexandria, Virginia. https://t.co/40NnklHKVd
Virginia’s governor says he’s in talks with leaders in the General Assembly to get its approval to fund a new sports arena for the Washington Capitals and Wizards after the legislature left that deal out of the state budget. https://t.co/EHarHIBoxo
LOCAL UPDATE: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin tells WTOP his next move on the Wizards, Capitals arena plan in an exclusive interview. https://t.co/k2NvSsd4qt
A plan to build a sports arena in Northern Virginia depends on more than a billion dollars in taxes and fees generated at the facility to fund its construction — but those figures rely on some aggressive assumptions, according to an analysis. https://t.co/Jyocnqdfo2
No secret I’ve been intensely repulsed by Youngkin’s act for decades (my firm had invested in 1990s-2000s vintage Carlyle funds)…but even I’m gobsmacked by this slow con. Sleazy. $730 rooms, $75 parking: Youngkin’s own report calls arena forecasts rosy https://t.co/mNAfKGlFbD
I for one would love to book an $800 a night hotel for a Caps game in <checks notes> Potomac Yard https://t.co/tGUCtR4aNL
🤨"discloses for the first time that the financing plan assumes thousands of fans will pay $75 for parking, the teams’ owner will host 53 more events annually in Alexandria...and a new luxury hotel will book rooms at a “historically unprecedented” rate of $731 a night." https://t.co/HoRANG20L4
$730 rooms, $75 parking: Youngkin’s own report calls arena forecasts rosy https://t.co/zkehxezOaI
$730 hotel rooms and $75 parking for fans? Youngkin’s own report calls forecasts for proposed Capitals-Wizards arena rosy. https://t.co/XspFklYjL2
Youngkin and Leonsis are banking on hordes of people to pay $731 a night to stay at a hotel near National Airport and $75 to park underground for a few hours. https://t.co/8xxlHoAvH7