Leonsis looking to move Capitals and Wizard to Virginia (upd: VA deal seemingly dead, new DC deal in the works)

[eojsmada]

Report: Owner of Capitals, Wizards exploring move out of downtown D.C.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, has explored moving the teams from downtown D.C. to nearby Virginia, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

www.sportsnet.ca

Click to read more...

 

[madhi19]

I don't know what he's thinking beside getting cheap land, subsidies, and a tax deal for one of those Entertainment district scam everybody want to build now... Okay I sort of do know... loll

The trend has been to be downtown or as close to downtown as you can get for decades now. Every time you hear about a under performing arena situation it's almost always way deep in the suburb. That's one of the cardinal rule, be close to your customers because you're competing with everything else that's closer.

 

[Hobble]

Wonder if Qatar has a hockey arena.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I’d assume that their fanbase is centered in northern Virginia, and I get the economic rational of being more centrally located for one‘s fanbase.

But still sad to see owners so willing to run out of their cities to the ‘burbs.

 

[BMN]

I’d assume that their fanbase is centered in northern Virginia, and I get the economic rational of being more centrally located for one‘s fanbase.

Well, also...they began construction on their current arena almost 30 years ago so it's practically the Parthenon...

 

[Melrose Munch]

I’d assume that their fanbase is centered in northern Virginia, and I get the economic rational of being more centrally located for one‘s fanbase.

But still sad to see owners so willing to run out of their cities to the ‘burbs.

Going to end up the same way it did in the 2000s when attendance dropped at these arenas. Anyone remember Richfield coliseum

 

[jonathan613]

I grew up in the maryland suburbs and was a devoted capitals fan. I am getting very close to ending my allegiance to them. Ovechkin and Putin, i can sort of sympathize with because he is afraid for his and his families lives. But having QATAR involved with this team is too much for me, and being in the burbs removes the ability of lots of fans to easily commute. The team will be worse off if they do this, and now that i live in in the new york area, i am likely to cut ties with this team.

 

[Terrier]

Report: Owner of Capitals, Wizards exploring move out of downtown D.C.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Washington Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, has explored moving the teams from downtown D.C. to nearby Virginia, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

www.sportsnet.ca

I loved the location of that rink(attended the Frozen Four in 2009, a couple of Bruins games there later on), in Chinatown, right on the Metro, a short distance from the Mall and the museums. Supposedly the arena hasn't aged well, but whatever.

 

[eojsmada]

I loved the location of that rink(attended the Frozen Four in 2009, a couple of Bruins games there later on), in Chinatown, right on the Metro, a short distance from the Mall and the museums. Supposedly the arena hasn't aged well, but whatever.

The area around it has become horrible as well. As a resident in a DC suburb, it's grown worse and worse over the years.

 

[Terrier]

The area around it has become horrible as well. As a resident in a DC suburb, it's grown worse and worse over the years.

I was wondering about that, since the Frozen Four there in 2009 was terrific(win or lose). BU fans congregated at the Penn Quarter Sports Tavern down the street, and we drank outside before the final, listening to the BU band.

Home Away from Home | BU Today | Boston University

Boston University is a leading private research institution with two primary campuses in the heart of Boston and programs around the world.

www.bu.edu

 

[Brodie]

I would hope there would be a point we'd get to eventually where people would start pushing back against replacing these arenas and stadiums that aren't even 30 years old

 

[Jumptheshark]

Wonder if Qatar has a hockey arena.

they have a few

 

[Jumptheshark]

The capital one arena is not that old. Built in 97. It was the first generation of "new" arenas and I think it is now the thought of teams an arena is only good for 20 or 30 years and then you need a new one. Not the 50 to 80 years as was once thought

 

[kaiser matias]

Wonder if Qatar has a hockey arena.

They actually have two: Gondolania Ice Arena and City Centre Mall, and a national team that's played some regional tournaments (often with naturalized expats).

 

[StreetHawk]

I would hope there would be a point we'd get to eventually where people would start pushing back against replacing these arenas and stadiums that aren't even 30 years old

If the location is good, you shoul stay and renovate. Blue, Bruins, Flyers all spend 9 figures renovating their arenas between 20-25 years in. As they say, if building has good bones, you can always renovate.

Vancouver is the one arena from the 90's that may not last. Built to fit in between 2 viaducts, thus concourse is narrow. Very tight during the intermissions and before/after the game. Centrally located and well maintained however. Plus, land is super expensive in Vancouver and really not many options to be close to the rapid transit line.

 

[Fenway]

In 1981 the Bruins came very close to moving from downtown to New Hampshire....that would have been a disaster



These 2 interviews discuss the move

18:04 - Brian McFarlane interviews former Bruin Johnny Peirson
20:45 - Dave Hodge interviews Bruin GM Harry Sinden

 

[GindyDraws]

I grew up in the maryland suburbs and was a devoted capitals fan. I am getting very close to ending my allegiance to them. Ovechkin and Putin, i can sort of sympathize with because he is afraid for his and his families lives. But having QATAR involved with this team is too much for me, and being in the burbs removes the ability of lots of fans to easily commute. The team will be worse off if they do this, and now that i live in in the new york area, i am likely to cut ties with this team.

Especially since the Washington Football Team/Commanders/'Skins (who started the whole trend of moving back to the suburbs in DC) decided "nah, we COULD offer charter service on game day as we are a private enterprise, but we don't want to", meaning fans have to endure traffic from hell, or foot over a mile to and back.

 

[Mightygoose]

If this move happens, the Caps would join their expansion cousin as the only active NHL franchise to operate out of 3 different state/jurisdictions over the course of their history.

 

[StreetHawk]

The capital one arena is not that old. Built in 97. It was the first generation of "new" arenas and I think it is now the thought of teams an arena is only good for 20 or 30 years and then you need a new one. Not the 50 to 80 years as was once thought

It's also about location as well as condition of the building. Have to think about how you get 18K of fans in and out of the arena. Public transit, driving, walking, etc. How is the infrastructure around the building.

NHL and NBA go from October to April for regular season and it's during the winter months. So, when the weather isn't great, are fans going to endure difficult travel to get to a game. That's also a factor is convenience as when the team is bad, people are less inclined to make the effort to go and watch a game live.

No idea where Leonis wants to go, but he and his group had better do their market research to ensure that the fans will be going to the new location if they do decide to leave the Capital One Center.

 

[GindyDraws]

I would hope there would be a point we'd get to eventually where people would start pushing back against replacing these arenas and stadiums that aren't even 30 years old

There actually is a growing trend of people fighting back against replacing stadiums for the sake of replacing them, especially because most of the time, stadiums are paid primarily with taxpayer dollars while they ultimately benefit owners of sports franchises instead (as in, the city and state are responsible for the lame parts of arena ownership while billionaires get all the fun parts). There's a difference between building an arena in a place like Richmond, Virginia or San Diego, where the venue literally can qualify for Social Security, versus an arena that's only 25 years old and can just do with some renovation work.

 

[pbgoalie]

With dc clamoring for statehood, looking at the future with taxes and costs, makes sense to be looking

 

[S E P H]

This is an interesting case because there's like four different states right around DC that he can move the teams to. The chances are more likely Maryland, but Virginia and Delaware are pretty close as well.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

If the team(s) are moved out of the district itself, they're 90% likely to go to VA. VA has a more favorable business climate and more pro sports team (especially hockey team) friendly demographics than MD.

I don't think a move to Arlington would be very significant in terms of affecting fans. If they built the arena near the Amazon HQ2 (which seems to be one scenario currently floated), it'd be close to Metro lines taking you to Metro Central or L'Enfant Plaza pretty quickly. It'll add 10-15 mins if you're coming in from Rockville or Silver Spring. Hardly a dealbreaker. On the upside, it'd be in an area much more accessible by car than the current arena (where driving to a game is essentially a nightmare) as it'd be close to 395 and 495.

 

[joelef]

Never understood why team just font put funds aside for renovations and upgrades.

 

[StreetHawk]

There actually is a growing trend of people fighting back against replacing stadiums for the sake of replacing them, especially because most of the time, stadiums are paid primarily with taxpayer dollars while they ultimately benefit owners of sports franchises instead (as in, the city and state are responsible for the lame parts of arena ownership while billionaires get all the fun parts). There's a difference between building an arena in a place like Richmond, Virginia or San Diego, where the venue literally can qualify for Social Security, versus an arena that's only 25 years old and can just do with some renovation work.

Not to mention the infrastructure around the arena has been set up for the past 20-30 years with transit and roads and parking.