D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large), serving as chair of the Committee on Business and Economic Development, held a hearing on the future of the District’s downtown in light of the possible relocation of the Washington Wizards and Capitals to Virginia.
“In the four weeks since Monumental Sports announced the intended relocation of [the teams] to Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Virginia, complex and parallel processes in both the District and Virginia are underway,” McDuffie said. “The timeline of decision-making may seem uncertain and distant, but many other stakeholders — including retail and hospitality businesses — cannot wait.”
Key aspects of the timing, commitments, and likely downstream impacts for Capital One Arena, Downtown, as well as the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Ward 8 were discussed by Acting Deputy Mayor Nina Albert, the District’s Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee, and Dr. Yesim Sayin, executive director of the D.C. Policy Center.
McDuffie welcomed Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Gallery Place-Chinatown Task Force. He said, in sum, that the District must be ready to move if the Potomac Yard deal doesn’t come through.
“The District needs a plan that doesn’t look backward but embraces the smart city development that our future demands,” the council member said. “Rebuilding the economy of February 2020 isn’t an option.”
McDuffie said the next hearing on the matter — the Roundtable on the District’s Business Climate — will occur on Jan. 18.