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Tag: alexandria arena

  • Va. Senate Majority Leader pushes Gov. Youngkin to ‘compromise’ if he wants Alexandria sports arena built – WTOP News

    Va. Senate Majority Leader pushes Gov. Youngkin to ‘compromise’ if he wants Alexandria sports arena built – WTOP News

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    “This has to be a negotiation; it’s not going to be … ‘take it or leave it.’” State Sen. Scott Surovell told WTOP that there are questions that need to be resolved, including the number of jobs created and solving transportation concerns.

    While speaking on air with WTOP Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin mentioned the possibility of resurrecting a plan to build a sports arena in Alexandria, Virginia, by including the project in his state budget resubmission. But, the Senate majority leader is pressing back on that idea.

    Following the governor’s interview, State Sen. Scott Surovell told WTOP he encourages Youngkin to “compromise” with legislators if he wants the sports arena and entertainment complex to be built. The Democrat said a rewritten bill could possibly pass if the project is reworked.

    “It would take a lot of work and discussion and dialogue, and would also take some compromise by the governor on some of our priorities, which so far has been unwilling to show any willingness to engage in,” Surovell told WTOP.

    The plan would move the Washington Capitals and Wizards teams out of downtown D.C. and into a new Alexandria arena sponsored by the Monumental Sports & Entertainment organization.

    The Democratic-led General Assembly left the proposal out of the state budget earlier this month. But Youngkin has a couple of options for keeping the deal alive.

    “I can include the entire project as part of my budget resubmission and we can give it a fair hearing and a vote,” Youngkin told WTOP. “That’s what I’m working on during this monthlong period where I get to work with legislators and really explain to them why this is such a unique opportunity.”

    Listen to WTOP’s full exclusive interview with Gov. Glenn Youngkin

    Surovell said adding the proposal back into the budget through a governor’s amendment is an “obtuse” method that he doesn’t expect legislators to be on board with.

    “The problem [with] the governor’s amendment is it’s just an up-or-down vote, and you can’t make any amendments or changes,” he said. “The path to solving this is probably more through like a special session than it is through a governor’s amendment, if we’re even going to have a discussion.”

    Surovell pointed at Youngkin’s background as a corporate executive in reference to the arena talks with legislators.

    “We’re not a division of [the Carlyle Group], we are an independent, coequal branch of government,” Surovell said. “This has to be a negotiation, it’s not going to be … ‘take it or leave it.’”

    Youngkin also praised the House for being supportive of the bill after legislators passed and sent it to the Senate. He said that happened because House lawmakers are “supportive” of the plan.

    “We need to get the Senate to do the work. They’ll recognize the exact same thing that the House has … this project is, once again, a once in a lifetime economic development opportunity,” Youngkin said.

    But Surovell disagreed with that characterization of the two chambers. He called the bill the House passed a “way to have dialogue and discussion.”

    “The House has not endorsed a specific project or a specific version of this arena,” Surovell said. “That’s not how the legislative process works.”

    Questions remain around the bill, including whether the economic projections are valid and whether jobs created by the project would provide proper wages and benefits, Surovell said.

    Some members are also concerned about transportation plans.

    “I think there’s concerns about risking taxpayer credit by using these bonds as the underlying financing mechanism,” he told WTOP.

    Surovell, for his part, sponsored the arena legislation in the Senate.

    “I put the bill in because I was willing to have dialogue and discussion about it,” he said.

    He said he felt it merited discussion because of the opportunity for economic development and the benefit of having two professional sports franchises for the first time in Virginia’s history.

    WTOP’s Scott Gelman contributed to this report.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Jessica Kronzer

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  • Here’s what labor unions are asking for in the Alexandria arena plan – WTOP News

    Here’s what labor unions are asking for in the Alexandria arena plan – WTOP News

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    The absence of a “project labor agreement” is at the center of opposition from influential labor groups in Northern Virginia who have been speaking out against the plan to build a new arena in Alexandria for the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Virginia Diamond, head of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO, said the plan to build a new sports arena in Alexandria does not come with the promise of good jobs.(WTOP/Nick Iannelli)

    The absence of a “project labor agreement” is at the center of opposition from influential labor groups in Northern Virginia who have been speaking out against the plan to build a new arena in Alexandria for the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

    Such an agreement “would require that there would be good pay with benefits and health care” for those who work on construction at the site, according to Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO.

    “It does not come with the promise of good jobs,” Diamond said about the arena plan. “Unfortunately, labor is not able to support this project.”

    Diamond said talks have broken down with the real estate developer JBG Smith on possibly getting a project labor agreement approved.

    An agreement would include opportunities for minority-owned contractors and small businesses to participate and would require hiring of people from local disadvantaged communities, Diamond said.

    “We’re disappointed, frankly, that we haven’t been able to see a labor agreement come together,” said Evan Regan-Levine, the chief strategy officer for JBG Smith.

    Regan-Levine said the deal was not dead and that negotiations would continue.

    “We’ve been earnestly at the table working in good faith,” Regan-Levine said. “We think there’s a productive solution here so we’re still open to those conversations.”

    Where the arena bill stands with Va. legislators

    State lawmakers in Richmond are still considering a bill that would pave the way for the arena project. It passed in the House of Delegates but has moved into the Senate, where its future is more uncertain.

    The bill would create a sports and entertainment authority that would own the land in Alexandria and lease it to Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the Capitals and Wizards. It would have the ability to fund much of the project by issuing bonds.

    While no upfront state taxpayer dollars would go toward the project, the terms of the agreement would divert new tax revenues from the project to pay down the bonds.

    The broad outline of the proposal calls for Monumental to invest $403 million in the $2 billion development. Alexandria would put in $106 million toward the construction of the performing arts venue and the development of underground parking.

    The rest of the approximately $1.5 billion financing would be supported through the authority-issued bonds.

    Those bonds would be repaid over time through rent paid by the team, parking fees, naming rights and new tax revenues generated by the development.

    The whole site would include an arena, as well as a new Wizards practice facility, a separate performing arts center, a media studio, new hotels, a convention center, housing and shopping.

    Even if the plan does pass in Virginia’s General Assembly, it would still ultimately need the green light from the Alexandria City Council.

    “This is all a long, complicated process,” said Canek Aguirre, one of the city council members. “If it does pass in Richmond, we still have to go through our process here, which, at this point, we’re still looking at easily six to eight months of public engagement.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Nick Iannelli

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