Relocation for NHL team gets rejected, “deal is dead”!

Back in December, an official announcement was made that the Washington Capitals, along with the NBA’s Washington Wizards, would be moving from their home at Capital One Arena in downtown D.C. to a yet to be built arena in nearby Northern Virgina.

Teams owner Ted Leonsis had even unveiled plans to build a sprawling entertainment district in Alexandria — only for the taxpayer-funded deal to stall in Virginia’s Democratic-controlled legislature.

However on Wednesday, breaking news emerged that the new arena for the Wizards and Capitals in Potomac Yard “will not move forward,” the mayor of Alexandria announced. Virginia’s House speaker also confirmed he’d been told that Leonsis, is no longer considering a deal to relocate them from the District of Columbia.

“The City of Alexandria has ended negotiations,” Mayor Justin Wilson said in a statement, adding: “We trusted this process and are disappointed in what occurred between the Governor and General Assembly.”

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes the Capitals will make an announcement shortly to reveal that both teams "will stay where they are, with upgrades to the facility and expanding the footprint around the arena."

The city said in a statement posted to its website that it was disappointed in the outcome.

In the meantime, Leonsis has been posting very nice things about the current home of his teams, tweeting positive stats about the venue, recent attendance figures for concerts and sports games.

Leonsis added: “Each of these events brings the community together, supports thousands of jobs, and generates significant tax revenue for the city.”

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