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Virginia
Not so fast. Proposal to relocate Wizards, Capitals to northern Virginia hits roadblock in legislature
:format(url)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/22ZMQT7HMFCSTLGV7QJHVBOVGA.jpg?ssl=1 "Not so fast. Proposal to relocate Wizards, Capitals to northern Virginia hits roadblock in legislature")
RICHMOND, Va. â A proposal to lure the the NBAâs Washington Wizards and NHLâs Washington Capitals to Alexandria, Virginia took another big hit Thursday, when top Virginia lawmakers confirmed the budget they will take up later this week would not include language enabling the deal.
The news does not necessarily mean the end of the road for Gov. Glenn Youngkinâs ambitions of landing Virginia its first major pro sports teams in nearly 50 years through a $2 billion development district featuring a new arena. But it complicates the path forward for a top Youngkin priority that requires legislative approval.
In a news conference at the foot of the Capitol steps, the Republican governor said he believed the Democratic-led General Assembly was poised to make âa colossal mistakeâ and argued that lawmakers should reconsider and restore the project language to the budget before sending it to his desk.
âThey have a chance to stand up and do whatâs right. They have a chance to assess this one-of-a-kind, first-of-its-kind economic development opportunity on the merits of the opportunity,â he said.
State Sen. L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, a senior Democrat who used her perch as chair of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to keep the deal out of the pending budget legislation, stood on the Capitol portico as Youngkin spoke, looking down and sometimes smiling.
The dealâs leading opponent and a sharp critic of the governor, Lucas told reporters she remains firmly opposed to the proposal, in large part because of its reliance on bonds backed by the state and city governments.
Both Lucas and Democratic Del. Luke Torian, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee and led negotiations for his chamber, confirmed that the arena-related provisions were removed from the budget legislation, which lawmakers are expected to take up Saturday.
The legislation had been in the hands of a conference committee â a small, bipartisan group of legislators thatâs been meeting behind closed doors to find compromise â after the two chambers passed competing budget bills earlier this session.
The budget was the last vehicle remaining this session for legislation to pave the way for the deal. Two other standalone bills were defeated after Lucas refused to grant them a committee hearing.
Youngkin and other backers have a few ways to try to keep the project alive. If lawmakers send the governor a budget without the arena language, he could pursue an amendment to restore it. Or he could call a special session, starting over with a new bill.
Legislators could also reject the budget and send it back to the conference committee, though Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell said in an interview thatâs not likely to happen.
Surovell, who said he did not anticipate budget negotiators would be open to more last-minute talks before Saturday, also criticized Youngkin for what he called an unwillingness to consider some top Democratic top priorities.
âThis is a process that requires compromise, and so far the governor has made very little indication that heâs willing to compromise,â said Surovell, who has been more open to the deal than Lucas.
Youngkin rolled out the proposal with great fanfare in December when he and Ted Leonsis, an entrepreneur and the ultrawealthy CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the Capitalsâ and Wizardsâ parent company, announced that they had reached an understanding.
The Wizards, previously known as the Bullets, played in Baltimore from 1963 to 1973, when the franchise moved to the then-new Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were joined there the following year by the expansion Capitals. In 1997, both franchises left suburban Maryland for a new downtown venue in Washington, now called Capital One Arena.
The competition within the DMV for the Capitals and Wizards comes as the District of Columbia also tries to lure the NFLâs Washington Commanders, who now play in Landover, back to the city. The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed a bill that would allow the District to redevelop the site of the teamâs former home, RFK Stadium, into a mixed-use project that possibly includes a new stadium. Marylandâs congressional delegation opposed the measure amid Gov. Wes Mooreâs efforts to keep the Commanders in Maryland, The Washington Post reported.
The Virginia deal calls for the creation of a $2 billion development, partly financed by public money, in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria that would include an arena, practice facility and corporate headquarters for Monumental, plus a separate performing arts venue, all just miles from Washingtonâs Capital One Arena, where the teams currently play.
The company said in a statement that it is disappointed but remains âhopeful that the merits of the proposal will eventually get a fair hearing so this important project can advance for our fans, players, employees and the residents of Virginia.â
In Washington, Council Chair Phil Mendelson welcomed the news and expressed hope that the teams would remain in the city, which has made a $500 million offer to renovate Capital One.
âThe Arena and Monumental Sports have been partners with the District for almost 30 years, and a great asset to downtown,â Mendelson said in a statement. âAs a deal in Virginia remains uncertain, the Council continues to be ready to welcome Monumental Sportsâ change of mind.â
Under the Youngkin-negotiated terms, Monumental and the city of Alexandria would contribute some funds up front, but about $1.5 billion would be financed through bonds issued by a governmental entity that lawmakers would set up.
The bonds were to be repaid through a mix of revenues from the project, including naming rights, parking fees and taxes on tickets, concessions and athletes competing at the arena. Proponents say that would more than cover the debt, creating new revenues for the city and state in the projectâs first year. But about a third of the financing would be backed by the âmoral obligationâ of the city and state governments, meaning taxpayers could be on the hook if the project revenues donât come through as expected.
Youngkin, a private equity executive before he ran for public office, emphasized that the state would not be putting in upfront cash and that revenues that âotherwise will not be hereâ would help finance the deal. And he warned that the Senateâs handling of the deal could threaten Virginiaâs business-friendly reputation.
Lucas dismissed that concern and said she had serious worries about âputting taxpayersâ money behind the project of a billionaire.â
She acknowledged that blocking the arena could hurt the chances of securing Youngkinâs support for top Democratic legislative priorities like a measure establishing marijuana retail sales. But she thought the trade-off was worth it.
âI just stood firm on what I believe in my heart to be in the best interest of the Commonwealth. And that was just to say no to the Glenn Dome,â she said using a nickname sheâs given the proposed arena.
Torian, who had carried one of the standalone arena bills, said he was âperhaps a little disappointedâ the arena language didnât survive, but he emphasized other provisions that did, including pay raises for teachers and other public employees and increased spending on certain government services.
Also out of the budget are Youngkinâs proposed tax cuts, he said.
Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie contributed to this report.
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger — who promised during her campaign to prioritize affordable energy if she won — on Sunday doubled down on her views of the “energy crisis” that her state will face without new policies to hold the biggest users accountable.
“There’s some bad energy policies in some of our neighboring states that have driven up prices, particularly in southwest Virginia,” Spanberger said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “We have to be clear-eyed about the fact that we will have an energy crisis headed into the future.”
Virginia has the world’s largest concentration of data centers, which are facilities designed to house the technical infrastructure that allow artificial intelligence to operate, and demand for them has only continued to grow as the AI boom proliferates. But these data centers use massive amounts of energy.
Data centers can bring financial benefits to the areas where they’re located, including in Virginia, where Gov. Glenn Youngkin said they resulted in $1 billion in tax revenue in 2024. But they also contribute to rising energy costs for consumers. Power bills in Virginia, for example, have increased by nearly 7% over the last year.
To offset the public burden of those rising prices, Spanberger has proposed a multi-pronged policy approach that involves ramping up energy production in Virginia and requiring data centers to pay “their fair share” for it.
“It will be important that large-scale energy users, particularly data centers, that the public know that they are paying their fair share for the energy that they are using,” Spanberger said, echoing remarks from her victory speech in last week’s election. “And we have to increase our energy production here at home, so that we can meet the demand, certainly of larger-scale energy users, but also of increased demand from our communities.”
Working to ensure “data centers don’t drive up energy costs for everyone else in Virginia” is one of the main pillars of Spanberger’s energy affordability plan. The plan stipulates that the facilities should pay their share of the cost for electricity generation and transmission capabilities “that must be built to power them.” Other tenets of her proposal include increasing local energy generation, storing energy more efficiently, addressing regulatory issues between states and making existing energy subsidy programs more accessible for low-income residents.
“It’s a real challenge that we have to get ahead of,” Spanberger said Sunday. “It’s a challenge that is pervasive in our communities, and particularly acute in southwest Virginia.”
A Democrat who previously represented northern and central Virginia in Congress, Spanberger won this year’s gubernatorial election, against Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, by more than 14 points. She will be Virginia’s first woman governor when she assumes office in January.
Virginia
Men’s Basketball Falls To Virginia Tech In OT, 107-101, In Hall Of Fame Tip-Off – Providence College Athletics
UNCASVILE, Conn. – The Providence College men’s basketball team was defeated in overtime by the Virginia Tech Hookies, 107-101 on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Graduate student Jason Edwards (Atlanta, Ga.) led the team with 28 points. Fellow graduate student Jaylin Sellers (Columbus, Ga.) added 26. Oswin Erhunmwunse (Benin City, Nigeria) recorded his fourth career double-double, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“Hard fought game.” Head Coach Kim English said. “Give Virginia Tech credit. They did a lot of good things down the stretch, especially in overtime. The shot making in that game was at a high level.”
FIRST HALF:
• On the Friars’ first defensive possession, Oswin Erhunmwunse brought the crowd to its feet with an emphatic block on a Virginia Tech dunk attempt.
• Jaylin Sellers opened the scoring for Providence, connecting on two free throws to tie the game at 2 (18:17).
• Virginia Tech responded with a 6-2 scoring run before Jason Sellers assisted Erhunmwunse on an and-one, alley-oop dunk. The Hokies scored on the ensuing possession to make it 10-7, Virginia Tech, going into the first media timeout.
• A deep three point make by Jason Edwards pulled the Friars within five, 17-12 (14:09).
• A Virginia Tech three-pointer followed by a Ryan Mela (Natick, Mass.) floater made it 20-14 Hokies going into the second media timeout.
• Out of the timeout, back-to-back three pointers from Stefan Vaaks (Tabasalu, Estonia) and Sellers tied the game at 20 (10:51).
• Jamier Jones (Sarasota, Fla.) stole a pass and got out in transition for a fast break dunk for his first points of the game (9:39).
• Back-to-back driving efforts from Sellers and Corey Floyd Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) gave the Friars their first lead of the night, 26-25 (8:39).
• Providence extended its lead going into the media timeout after a Sellers three pointer that made it 29-27 (7:23).
• The game was notched at 37 after both teams traded baskets on four consecutive possessions before a Virginia Tech timeout (4:45).
• A 7-0 run on a pair of free throws from Duncan Powell (Dallas, Texas) followed by another Sellers three and two free throws from Erhunmwunse made it 44-37, giving the Friars their largest lead of the game (0:40).
• A Virginia Tech three followed by a pair of Edwards free throws made it 46-40 going into the half.
• Providence shot 15-34 (44.21) from the field, 7-17 (41.2%) from three, and 9-10 (90.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Virginia Tech shot 14-32 (43.8%) from the field, 7-16 (43.8%) from three, and 6-6 (83.3%) from the free-throw line.
• Providence held the edge in rebounding, 19-17.
• Sellers led the Friars with 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
• Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas led all scorers with 17.
SECOND HALF:
• Sellers picked up where he left off, scoring on a driving layup and a turnaround jumper to open the scoring in the second half to make it 50-42, Providence (18:18).
• The teams traded baskets on four straight possessions before a 10-0 Virginia Tech run that gave them the lead 56-54 (14:29).
• Vaaks converted on a jumper to tie the game at 56 on the following possession (14:07).
• Two possessions later, Vaaks answered a Virginia Tech three with one of his own to tie the game at 61 going into the second media timeout (11:15). The three marked Vaaks third of the game.
• Out of the timeout, Sellers continued his strong shooting performance with a three pointer that gave the Friars a three-point lead, 64-61, before the media timeout (10:02).
• A blow by layup by Edwards followed by a Virginia Tech basket put the score at 67-67 going into the media timeout (7:36).
• Out of the time out, Edwards connected on a three-pointer pass from Cole Hargrove () to give the Friars a three-point lead.
• Jamier Jones threw down his second alley-oop dunk of the game on an assist from Edwards to keep the Friars up three following two Virginia Tech free throws (6:49).
• Oswin Erhunmwunse connected on two free throws awarded to him on a flagrant foul to tie the game at 74. The Friars retained possession and Stefan Vaaks connected on his fourth three pointer of the night to give Providence the 77-74 lead (5:27).
• Fast back and forth action resulted in Virginia Tech leading, 82-81, going into the final media timeout. Layups by Sellers and Mela kept the Friars within one (3:03).
• A Duncan Powell free throw on the front end of a one-and-one, followed by an offensive rebound and Jason Edwards pull-up jumper tied the game at 84 with under two minutes remaining (1:54).
• A pair of Edwards free throws gave the Friars the two-point lead before a Virginia Tech timeout (1:06).
• A put back layup by Virginia Tech tied the game at 86 with 7 seconds remaining. The Friars brought the ball up the court and called a timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining.
• The Friars inbounded the ball to Stefan Vaaks who attempted a step back three that rattled around the rim and bounced out. End of regulation.
OVERTIME:
• Erhunmwunse answered Virginia Tech’s quick first basket to keep it tied at 88 (4:34).
• Virginia Tech went on a 6-0 run that forced a Providence timeout (3:23).
• A Jason Edwards driving layup followed by Stefan Vaaks hitting all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point-attempt pulled the Friars within 1, 96-95 (2:11).
• A 4-0 run by Virginia Tech, after a Sellers layup, gave them a six-point lead, 103-97, with under a minute remaining.
• The Friars converted layups and made free throws, but Virginia Tech made its free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Four players finished in double figures for the Friars: Edwards (28), Sellers (26), Vaaks (17) and Erhunmwunse (11).
• Virginia Tech forward Neoklis Avdalas finished with 33 points, earning him the game’s most valuable player award.
• Oswin Erhunmwunse finished with a team high 11 rebounds and a game high four blocks.
• Erhunmwunse recorded his first double double of the season and the fourth of his career.
• Stefan Vaaks connected on four three pointers.
• Providence’s bench outscored Virginia Tech’s 27-20, with two in double figures.
• Providence held the rebound advantage, 43-42.
• Providence shot 34-76 (44.7%) from the field, 11-33 (33.3%) from three, and 22-25 (88.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Virginia Tech shot 40-79 (50.6%) from the field, 12-28 (42.9%) from three, and 15-22 (68.2%) from the free-throw line.
NOTES:
• The Friars have posted a 4-6 mark all-time versus Virginia Tech.
• The Friars scored 100 points in a game for the first time since January 17, 2024 against DePaul.
• The last time the Friars lost a game when scoring over 100 points was on Jan. 23, 2010 against the University of South Florida, 109-105.
• The Friars fell to 80-72 all-time in OT games.
• Providence has posted a 3-1 mark all-time versus the Hokies at home. PC is 1-3 on the road versus Virginia Tech and 0-2 in neutral arenas.
• The Friars are 137-199 all-time versus teams from the ACC.
• Saturday marked the first of two games the Friars will play at Mohegan Sun this season and PC’s eighth game all-time at Mohegan Sun Arena.
• The Friars have posted a 3-6 mark all-time at Mohegan Sun Arena.
UP NEXT:
The Friars will host Penn in Providence, R.I. on Saturday Nov. 11 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
-GO FRIARS!-
PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (20-3, 12-1 ACC) earned a dominant sweep against Virginia Tech (10-14, 2-11 ACC) 25-13, 25-12, 25-17 in the Fitzgerald Field House on Friday night. Eight Panthers recorded at least a pair of kills behind a well-balanced offense from Brooke Mosher and Haiti Tautua’a. The win over the Hokies marks Dan Fisher‘s 11th season with 20 or more victories.
The Panthers and Hokies battled it out at the beginning of the first set as Pitt called a timeout at 8-7. Marina Pezelj powered the Panthers to a 7-2 run to force Virginia Tech to call a timeout. The Hokies attempted to claw back but were unable to as they were forced to call a timeout, down 21-13. Mallorie Meyer continued her strong service run to carry Pitt to a 25-13 set one victory.
Masten’s efficient serving and a pair of kills from Olivia Babcock was too much to handle as Virginia Tech was prompted to call an early timeout, down 9-2. The momentum from the Panthers continued to flow, and an ace from Kiana Dinn caused the Hokies to take their final timeout at 18-7. The Panthers eventually took the set 25-12 to carry a 2-0 lead into the break.
Despite a tie at 4-4, the Panthers went on a 9-4 run, and two consecutive aces from Haiti Tautua’a forced Virginia Tech to take a timeout, down 13-8. An efficient Panther offense powered Pitt to end set three 25-17, and win the match, 3-0.
The Panthers wrap up the weekend against Virginia on Sunday at noon on ACC Network in the Fitzgerald Field House.
NOTES
- Eight Panthers recorded at least two kills in the sweep
- Haiti Tautua’a notched a season-high 20 assists to lead Pitt to a .352 hitting percentage
- The Panthers out dug the Hokies 38-28
- Bre Kelley and Ryla Jones tallied four blocks each as the Panthers finished the night with 9.5
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