Lawmakers will not include funds for a sports and entertainment district in Alexandria in Virginia’s budget, The Washington Post and Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, likely ending Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Ted Leonis’ and Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to bring the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Northern Virginia.
Senate Finance and Appropriations Chairwoman L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, told The Post sports arena language will not be in the House of Delegates and Senate budget compromise coming out Thursday.
Lucas, a staunch opponent of the arena plan, posted a meme of herself flashing a peace out sign over a grave with the caption “Youngkin and Leonsis’ $5 billion arena” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The House voted 81-18 in favor of a budget that included the arena deal, though delegates said they voted for it in order to continue negotiations.
The Senate then passed its own version of the budget without any language on arena plans.
A handful of senators and delegates then met in what’s called conference committees to hash out the differences between the two budgets.
Virginia’s General Assembly typically hammers out its final budget proposal in the final seconds of session, which is scheduled to adjourn Saturday.
Some of the Virginia Senate’s top Democrats said they don’t think they should be using state-backed bonds to fund a new arena for Monumental Sports and Entertainment.
