Big news out of DC, the Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis laid out a $2 billion proposal to move the teams out of DC to Alexandria, VA:

 

It’s going to be a massive sports entertainment complex with concert venues, hotels, and more along with the stadium:

Now this might be a bunch of smoke and mirrors from Leonsis. He’s been in a battle with the DC mayor’s office for money to upgrade the current Capital One Arena. The mayor’s office has been dragging their feet for a while. It’s not a coincidence that moments after the announcement was made, the mayor’s office offered $500 million to renovate Capital One Arena.

How does this affect the Sixers? There have been some parallels made in the arena discussion. A lot of 76 Place opponents used the Wizards arena as an example of how it ruined Chinatown and the area around it. Also, a lot of people you talk to in DC credit the arena for reviving that area of downtown economically, something Market Street desperately needs. Ted Leonsis privately financed the stadium, like the Sixers ownership group plans to do, and if you’re thinking this could be an example of headaches we might experience between the city and the Sixers in the future, you’re not alone. Personally, I think if you privately finance your arena you should have to pay for the upgrades. If my water heater breaks I can’t go to the local city council and tell them I need money for a new one. The land underneath Capital One is owned by the city though. The land for the Sixers will be conveyed to Philadelphia as well. David Adelman says the reason is so the city can be a part of design plans and make sure they adhere to their community benefits agreement with Chinatown.


Capital One Arena was built 26 years ago. What’s going to happen 26 years from now with the Sixers? Who knows? We might not even have the same ownership group by then. But you can definitely envision a power play from whoever is in charge, threatening to take the team across the river and build a facility there. I know that’s been in the back of Sixers fans’ minds forever. I mean you already have the concert venue, hotels, and entertainment district in Camden. The Sixers practice there. It’s a pretty easy vision to see. If I had to guess, the Wizards stay in DC. This new Virginia project is supposed to be completed in 2028 and the amount of headaches and lawyers that will be involved will hold it up for years. Leonsis will just end up renovating his arena with money from the city and the Commanders will move to Alexandria first. The Sixers stadium will be built and we’ll deal with 26 years from now 26 years from now.