Alexandria residents form coalition to challenge Potomac Yard arena plan for DC teams

POTOMAC YARD, Va. – A coalition of residents and community members in Alexandria are banning together against the proposal to move the Washington Capitals and Wizards to Virginia.

“The Coalition to Stop The Arena at Potomac Yard” was formed shortly after the tentative deal was announced in December, according to co-founder Andrew Macdonald. 

The three major concerns shared by the group Thursday were over transparency, financial impacts, and transportation issues.

“We have a new metro station here. It doesn’t have the capacity to carry the number of people it should. Even if it did, people are going to drive and there’s not going to be anywhere to park,” Macdonald told FOX 5. “Mayor [Justin] Wilson says, ‘We’ll put 2,500 units underground.’ Here’s what’s going to happen, people are going to drive, they’re going to go to the neighborhoods, park there, and cause all sorts of traffic havoc.” 

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson appeared on FOX 5 Wednesday morning, one day before the press conference on Thursday. 

Mayor Wilson addressed issues that have been shared by community members who have concerns over the proposal.

On the issue of transportation, Wilson said the city is prepared to work with residents to ensure the quality of life is not impacted negatively. They will encourage people to take public transit to the games, though Wilson said he recognizes people could opt to drive.

“I think big picture, right? We invested in the metro station because we wanted to diversify our revenue. We wanted to grow economically in Potomac Yard. We’ve actually planned a significant amount of density for Potomac Yard but the question in this post-pandemic world is what does that use look like?” Wilson said Wednesday. “We’re not building office buildings. We’re not building large office buildings even on top of the metro, so this is an opportunity to create those experimental uses. Those are the uses that cannot be virtualized that are going to bring people to Potomac Yard, help drive our economy but ultimately be viable for a long time to come.”

Shannon Curtis, a board member with the coalition, said she’s convinced the area’s infrastructure was built to support both fans and residents on game days.

“I had no idea if this happened, how I was going to get home from work in the evening when 20,000 people were headed in the same direction,” Curtis said. “I think a lot of us feel the transportation concerns are insurmountable. You can’t put more freeways into Alexandria. There’s no room to expand what we already have.”

The coalition stressed on Thursday that they felt the tentative plan was a “backroom” deal and unveiled to the public without enough time for the public actually to weigh in.

Under the tentative deal, which still needs to be approved by the Virginia General Assembly, the WNBA team Mystics would move from their current arena in Southeast D.C. and play at the Capital One Arena in Chinatown. 

Ron Moten with the group Don’t Mute D.C. was also at the event Thursday.

“I would just go to Washington, D.C. to tell the people of Alexandria that everything that glitters is not gold,” he told FOX 5. “We had an owner that came to Southeast D.C. and had D.C. spend $65 million for a facility that was supposed to spark growth just like they’re talking here. Along with that, 15 Black businesses — some inside the area, some right outside the area — were given some hope, and just like this, you said it wasn’t good enough. You left my city hanging.”

FOX 5 received the following joint statement from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Alexandria, and JBG SMITH:

“We are at the beginning of a process to share the vision to build a world-class Entertainment District and engage with the Alexandria community and listen to their feedback. Alexandria residents are rightfully proud of their city and can be assured we will listen to the needs and concerns of the community. Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Alexandria, and JBG SMITH look forward to partnering with community members in Alexandria and fans across the Greater Washington Area to bring to life a collective vision for Potomac Yard and create exceptional experiences and regional economic growth for decades to come.”