ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has reached a tentative agreement with the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to move those teams from the District of Columbia to what he called a new “visionary sports and entertainment venue” in northern Virginia.
The proposal, which would need the state legislature’s approval, calls for the creation of a $2 billion sports and entertainment district south of Washington in Alexandria, just miles from the existing arena, Youngkin said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a news conference Wednesday at the site. It would include an arena for what would be the state’s first major professional sports teams, as well as a new Wizards practice facility, a separate performing arts center, a media studio, new hotels, a convention center, housing and shopping.
“The Commonwealth will now be home to two professional sports teams, a new corporate headquarters, and over 30,000 new jobs — this is monumental,” Youngkin said in a statement.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis appeared with Youngkin and city officials at Wednesday’s announcement. He endorsed the proposal, thanked Youngkin and said he had “goose bumps” at the thought of the project coming together “if all goes as planned.”
Monumental also owns the WNBA’s Mystics, and in its news release Wednesday said that Capital One Arena, where the Wizards and Capitals currently play, could potentially become the Mystics’ home again. The WNBA team played there from its inception in 1998 until 2018, then moved to the much-smaller Entertainment and Sports Arena in southeastern Washington, D.C., where the Wizards’ G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, also plays. The Mystics won the 2019 WNBA title at 4,200-seat ESA.
Monumental also said Capital One Arena could host various other events, such as NCAA tournament games and concerts.
“Our intention is to expand here and keep Capital One Arena in D.C. a great place,” said Leonsis, a wealthy entrepreneur and former AOL executive.
The new development would be located in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria, near Virginia Tech’s ambitious Innovation Campus, a graduate school that is under construction and will be focused on technology.
To help finance the venue project, Youngkin will ask the Virginia General Assembly in the 2024 session to approve the creation of a Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority, a public entity with the ability to issue bonds. Those bonds would be repaid partly by tax revenues from the project.
“We have reached a very clear understanding, really subject to finalizing the General Assembly’s work,” Youngkin said in the interview.
Still, on Tuesday night ahead of the announcement, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled a counterproposal aimed at keeping the teams. The legislation would direct half a billion dollars to modernize Capital One Arena.
“The modernization of the Capital One Arena will be an invaluable investment for continued success and our future prosperity,” Bowser said in a statement. “This proposal represents our best and final offer and is the next step in partnering with Monumental Sports to breathe new life and vibrancy into the neighborhood and to keep the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals where they belong — in Washington, DC.”
Bowser said that proposal has unanimous support from the D.C. Council.
When the Capitals and Wizards moved from suburban Maryland to D.C.’s Chinatown district in 1997 in what was then known as MCI Center, officials credited the arena with sparking a revival in downtown Washington. In recent years, critics who have faulted city officials for lax crime policies have said the neighborhood around the arena has suffered disproportionately.
The proposed 9 million-square-foot Virginia entertainment district would be developed by JBG Smith, a publicly traded real estate firm that is also the developer of Amazon’s new headquarters in neighboring Arlington, Youngkin’s office said.
The administration expects the project to generate a combined $12 billion in economic impact for Virginia and the city of Alexandria in the coming decades and create around 30,000 new jobs, Youngkin’s office said in a statement. Subject to legislative approval, it would break ground in 2025 and open in late 2028.
The event Wednesday also drew a group of around 10 protesters, who were barely audible from the tent where the announcement took place.
Located along the Potomac, just across the water from Washington, the district would be accessible by “all modes of transportation,” Youngkin’s office touted in the statement, including from a newly opened Metro station.
Potomac Yard, just south of Reagan National Airport, is currently occupied by strip malls and other retail.
In the 1990s, the site received serious consideration as a site for an NFL stadium, but negotiations between the team and Virginia fell through. The site is adjacent to the redevelopment sparked by Amazon’s construction.
Asked how a move by Monumental might impact the state’s efforts to lure the NFL’s Commanders to Virginia and whether those talks were ongoing, Youngkin said he could not comment.
Legislation aimed at recruiting the football team to northern Virginia fell apart last year.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
After giving up Ohtani’s 431-foot blast, Misiorowski responded with another dominant outing. He struck out a career-high 12 batters — including two-way superstar Ohtani in the third inning — to lead the Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.
“It’s Shohei Ohtani,” Misiorowski said. “You kind of expect [that]. It’s cool to see him do it in action, but it fires me up even more coming back the next at-bat and striking him out. I’m right there. I think it was a moment of like, ‘OK, now we go.'”
Misiorowski, whose fastball routinely tops 100 mph, threw an 88.2 mph curveball on an 0-2 count to Ohtani, who crushed it for his 31st homer. That’s the most by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break.
It was the 21st career leadoff homer for the three-time MVP, who struck out swinging on a curveball in the third and walked to start the sixth. That was the only walk given up by Misiorowski, who scattered four hits.
“Really good stuff, aggressive in the zone,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But what really stood out to me was his command and control.”
Misiorowski outdueled three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who surpassed 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing. Asked Monday about his matchup with Misiorowski, Kershaw said he only knew that the 6-foot-7 right-hander threw hard.
“I know him now, huh?” Kershaw said Tuesday. “That was super impressive. That was unbelievable. It was really special. Everything. Obviously the velo, but he’s got four pitches, commands the ball. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough.”
Misiorowski was glad to get Kershaw’s attention.
“I saw something online that he didn’t now who I was, so I hope he knows me now,” Misiorowski said. “It’s kind of cool.”
In five starts since the Brewers called him up from the minors, Misiorowski has already beaten Kershaw and 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. In another outing, Misiorowski carried a perfect game into the seventh inning.
“He’s just broken the shell,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “He’s just out of the egg, all arms and legs. He’s still got gooey stuff coming off, you can see it, all arms and legs, but there’s something special about him.”
The numbers would indicate as much. Misiorowski is 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has given up only 12 hits in 25⅔ innings.
He topped out at 101.6 mph and threw 20 pitches of at least 100 on Tuesday. He also threw 19 curveballs after using curves only 10% of the time before Tuesday.
He was coming off his only shaky performance, giving up five runs — including a grand slam by Brandon Nimmo — and three walks over 3⅔ innings Wednesday in a 7-3 loss to the New York Mets.
It looked as if it might be more of the same after Ohtani went deep. Misiorowski responded by striking out 12 of the next 16 batters.
“I think that’s my job, is to figure it out on the fly,” he said. “I feel like I did it tonight.”
He got out of a jam in the sixth. The Dodgers trailed 2-1 and had runners on second and third with one out, but third baseman Andruw Monasterio fielded a grounder and threw out Ohtani at the plate, and Misiorowski retired Michael Conforto on a grounder.
Misiorowski pumped his fist as he headed toward the dugout, then watched the Brewers’ bullpen nail down the win.
“It’s so satisfying,” Misiorowski said. “It’s just a dream come true, to do what I did.”
Bailey became just the third catcher in MLB history to hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run, joining the Chicago Cubs’ Pat Moran in 1907 and the Washington Nationals’ Bennie Tate in 1926.
Bailey’s homer would have been an outside-the-park home run in 29 of 30 ballparks, with Oracle Park being the exception.
Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice and scored to help the Giants to their sixth win in seven games.
Bailey, who grounded into a double play and struck out in two of his previous at-bats, then smashed a 1-0 fastball from Jordan Romano (1-4) into right-center field that ricocheted off the brick part of the wall.
Ryan Walker (2-3) retired one batter, with two on in the top of the ninth, to earn the win.
Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber had two hits, including his team-leading 28th home run.
Schwarber flew out, struck out and was hit by a pitch before homering off Giants reliever Spencer Bivens into McCovey Cove. Brandon Marsh, who singled as a pinch hitter leading off the inning, scored on the play.
Two days after being named an All-Star for the second time in his career, Robbie Ray gave up four hits and one run in 5⅔ innings.
BALTIMORE — The New York Mets consider Juan Soto to be a bona fide All-Star, despite the snub he received from those who selected the National League squad for the Midsummer Classic on July 15.
Soto, in his first year with the Mets, has performed well enough to earn the respect of his manager and teammates. In their opinion, he’s deserving of a place in the All-Star Game next week in Atlanta.
“He’s an All-Star for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday night after the Mets beat Baltimore 7-6. “It’s frustrating, but I’m hoping in the next couple of days we hear something and he makes it.”
Soto drove in the winning run with a sharp single on the first pitch of the 10th inning. That capped a night in which he went 3 for 5 to raise his batting average to .269 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs.
Soto has walked 72 times, by far the most in the majors, but he can also lash out at a pitcher when necessary.
“He’s got a pretty good understanding of what the pitchers are trying to do to him,” Mendoza said. “There is his awareness of the game, he’s going to see pitchers. There are times when he’s going to be aggressive. Tonight was one of those nights. First pitch in the 10th, he’s attacking.”
Soto made the All-Star team as a member of the Nationals, Padres and Yankees each year since 2021. The streak appears to be over. But his teammates believe he deserves to go.
“What he done all year is just incredible, and the results are good enough,” Mets starting pitcher Clay Holmes said. “The consistency he’s showed up with, at the at-bats he’s taken, is more than an All-Star. He’s one of the best in the game and a big part of our lineup.”
Soto seems rather philosophical about the snub.
“Sometimes, you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t,” he told reporters after Sunday’s loss to the Yankees. “It’s just part of baseball.”
