Public Comments for: HB1514 - Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority and Financing Fund; established, report.
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Alexandria is a vibrant city based on history, culture, a waterfront and lots of tourism. If Virginia has money and space to build an arena then you have money and space to build new schools. Our school system is deplorable. It’s overcrowded. Think of your citizens before thinking about your quick money grab that eventually leads to an inevitable loss. We don’t want or need an arena. This is pure greed.
Dear Members of the Assembly: I respectfully ask that you reject any attempts to develop an arena complex at Potomac Yard. Rather than reiterate the mountain of research and evidence that demonstrates the fallibility of this development, the bottom line is that an arena will damage the quality of life for our city. Beyond the tax burden, stench of corporate welfare, environmental concerns, unaffordable sports ticket prices, my greatest fear of this development is missing a child’s basketball game or school recital because I am stuck in Route 1 traffic or unable catch a Metro train due to platform overcrowding. These are admittedly simple and parochial concerns, but nonetheless represent the type of quality of life issues damaged by arena development in Potomac Yard. The fact that the Commonwealth and city taxes would be used to not only fund an organization and project capable of going to capital markets, but also to subsidize the degradation of neighborhood life, is especially disheartening. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the negative impacts arena development would have on our community. Brendan O’Neil
I'm a born and raised Alexandrian and I'm deeply concerned about the proposed Monumental Sports arena in Potomac Yard. I strongly urge you to vote no. The entire process has not been transparent and residents have had no input on this project at all . We were blindsided with the announcement by Leonsis , the governor and Mayor Wilson in December. There have been townhalls after the fact where questions were either not answered and "presentations " have been given or only pro arena pre screened questions have been answered . Furthermore, the studies published have been inadequate and provided insufficient / vague information about environmental impacts, traffic mitigation , how it will be paid for and how much by whom and how it will effect infrastructure in our area. The dense area by Potomac Yard, with its proximity to the new Amazon HQ, new VT campus, and DCA airport is already stretched to the max. Route 1 cannot be widened enough to accommodate the additional crowd flow that would be expected with all the games and events that would take place with such regularity. It would be a nightmare commute for residents, fans and airport travelers alike. Metro has already proven they do not have the resources necessary to make the huge changes needed to this recently built station to accommodate the crowd flow. One or 2 small escalators to enter/ exit and one long sky bridge to enter/exit would be a nightmare. Not to mention -it is the only station within walking distance to the proposed complex and is serviced by 2 lines sharing one track. Both Nats Park and Cap One Arena are walking distance to several stations with several metro lines and in the case of cap one/gallery place-it has multiple lines Available directly below the arena. I also highly doubt fans from DC and MD will travel that far out of the city to attend games-we've seen how poorly attended and difficult to get to Commanders games are at FedEx Field . Attendance would most certainly go down. Not to mention, I’m sure the cost of tickets will greatly increase to cover the costs for the new facilities. It would also hurt the DC economy and hobble the cities' efforts to recover from the pandemic . DC teams belong in DC so they're accessible to all fans in our area. Lastly, my biggest concern is quality of life and cost of living for our area. Rent and mortgage prices are already extremely high and I fear that this would price most families and small businesses out of the surrounding area (and my nearby area by proxy as well)...not to mention, most of the "job growth" being touted would be minimum wage jobs In which the arena workers would be unable to afford to live nearby as well . According to several bits of fine print I’ve seen, some of employees’ withheld money from paychecks could also be used to cover any remaining overhead costs , which is outrageous. I would also be deeply saddened to see many of Del Ray's mom and pop businesses close and numerous chain stores open in their place bc rent is so high. The area cannot and should not become National Harbor 2.0 and simply cannot accommodate the volume considering how dense it already is. I appreciate you taking the time to listen to my concerns and I thank you all for your service to our community and our commonwealth . Sincerely, Meredith Richard 22307 resident (work in 22314, raised in 22314 )
To the elected leaders of VA. Many of us are in FAVOR of the arena and appreciate any leadership to step forward and vote in favor u til it is done.
As a resident of the City of Alexandria, I’m opposed to the bill because the process is moving too quickly, the transportation study shows there will be a negative impact on our quality of life and the funds allocated to remedy traffic and Metro could be better used to serve the residents of Alexandria. Thank you for considering my views as you vote on this bill.
I want to express my firm opposition to HB1514. The proposal to build a stadium and entertainment complex in Potomac Yard in Alexandria would leave Virginia taxpayers in the lurch to pay back millions, while very wealthy sports team owners and real estate developers make a hefty profit. Studies clearly show that these sports arena complexes almost never make back the money that is spent on them--indeed, quite the contrary--and that just a handful of people profit from it, while the public at large is left to pay the piper when the bond that financed the project comes due. Furthermore, I have no interest in having my neighborhood suffer and my quality of life significantly impacted in the most negative possible way from the traffic and hordes of people who would swarm into a very small geographical area attend sports and other kinds of events. I see that the majority of my neighbors feel similarly. I can see no upside to this proposal. The DC arena is more than sufficient to host these events and has the transportation and other infrastructure to handle large crowds. Alexandria would benefit more both economically and socially from a mixed used development corridor as was originally planned. Sincerely, Kelley Anne Reynolds
Hello House of Delegates, I am writing to urge you not to pass HB1514. It is a bad bill because the idea of building an arena in Potomac Yard in the City of Alexandria is a bad idea. We are a city plagued by recent over development. This development has produced many new buildings but little to no infrastructure was added to support it. The roads were not expanded to accommodate more people in cars, the public schools, already at capacity, were not expanded...the list goes on. Route one right in front of where this arena will be built is a traffic disaster. They is constant congestion. The arena will make things much worse in terms of adding too many people and cars to an already over crowded area. In addition, the arena is to be built near a flood area that houses native plants and animals. Building the arena will hurt the natural environment. Instead of an arena, why not establish a park with walking paths, an open area for outdoor concerts and pavilions for picnics. The Wizards and other DC teams should stay in DC and build a new arena there. Thanks for listening and considering voting against this bill.
On behalf of the business community representing National Landing's three vibrant neighborhoods, I am writing in FAVOR of HB 1514, the legislation for a proposed Stadium Authority for the Sports Arena in Potomac Yard, Alexandria. We support this project because it fits into the shared vision for a vibrant urban corridor established through decades of thoughtful planning for sustainable growth. We know how to do this right, as both Alexandria and Arlington have a proven track record and a foundation to accommodate large-scale development in ways that benefit the community successfully, grow business, and deliver vibrant urban fabric. We will continue to advocate for people-centric mobility investments that will be key to this transformative project's success.
On behalf of the business community representing National Landing's three vibrant neighborhoods, I am writing in FAVOR of HB 1514, the legislation for a proposed Stadium Authority for the Sports Arena in Potomac Yard, Alexandria. We support this project because it fits into the shared vision for a vibrant urban corridor established through decades of thoughtful planning for sustainable growth. We know how to do this right, as both Alexandria and Arlington have a proven track record and a foundation to accommodate large-scale development in ways that benefit the community successfully, grow business, and deliver vibrant urban fabric. We will continue to advocate for people-centric mobility investments that will be key to this transformative project's success.
No, no, no, no, no to cramming a sports arena into Potomac Yard! Even on a good day, Route 1 traffic is a challenge. The just-opened PY Metro stop isn't big enough to handle game day crowds & I doubt VA will cough up the necessary funds to expand it when it chronically underfunds Metro as it is. The quality of life will also take a huge hit in the otherwise lovely adjacent neighborhoods, mobbed by unruly sports fans. Crime will definitely go up---that's one of DC's complaints with Monumental now. But that's for DC to figure out. DC teams belong in DC & if Monument feels it needs a facility upgrade, let them spend their own funds renovating the perfectly situated & easily accessible arena they already have, not "borrowing" from VA taxpayers who'll likely never see that money again. I live just south of Old Town in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County where all northward access, by the GW Parkway and Route 1, the two main arteries, will be severely impacted if not outright cut off by this sports arena. That means trouble getting to work, forget going to museums or theaters or restaurants (not everything in life is about sports!), and whoa if there's a medical emergency because the main roads will be blocked. No, no, no, no, no to the sports arena at Potomac Yard! Bad, awful, terrible, no good, really bad idea, this sports arena in Potomac Yard---keep DC sports in DC.
I do not support the arena project in Alexandria. I live close to the arena and know that traffic will be greatly impacted. The traffic flow/parking plan that was circulated can't be serious. It has all the cars exiting on to the same single road over 1-2 blocks. Estimates are that it would take up to 90 minutes to clear everyone from the metro and I haven't seen anything about how quickly cars would clear the area. Literally you don't need a degree in civil engineering to see you can't add 2500 cars to that roadway and not expect gridlock. Getting to and from National Airport will be a real challenge any time there is an event, among other things. There are dozens of academic studies that demonstrate that the benefits of stadium/arena investments by states and localities do NOT outweigh the costs. And, this is one of the biggest public investments of all time. How is this going to be different than all the others?? We do not want this in our area. And, last but not least - our tax dollars should not be helping billionaires make money off of their professional sports team.
Please do not support the arena being built here. We moved to the Del Ray section of Alexandria 26 years ago specifically because it has a small town feel, while being convenient to Washington DC. It was a long and hard search to find a place to settle down and raise our kids. My husband grew up in a city and wanted to have that convenience, but I have panic attacks when surrounded by large groups of people. Alexandria has become our home, but I am truly afraid that the arena being built will force us to move. I have no problem with growth, of course we don't want our city to stagnate, but this is going to be too much, too fast and will not be something that can be absorbed but will instead force the entire community around it to change without any practical benefits to the citizens. There are plenty of more metropolitan areas near here, that people who love the excitement of crowds can live in, but Del Ray should get to remain an oasis for those of us who don not and can not handle them. Thank you
Dear Distinguished Members of the House of Representatives of the State of Virgina, Please Vote NO on HB1514. As an Alexandria Resident, living in Potomac Yard, I am deeply concerned about the proposed Arena, the traffic problems it will create, the lack of meaningful consultations with the community during the decision making process, the amount of debt that the City of Alexandria will be backstopping. Most of all, I am deeply concerned that you are about to support the largest business incentive ever given to a billionaire team owner. If you are to support this bill under the auspices of “economic development”, you have to do so committing that appropriate funds for infrastructure and impact mitigation will be made available to ensure that quality of life will be protected in the area, and that the DMV will have access to critical Infrastructure such as airports and hospitals on game nights. Make sure families in Alexandria will not have to suffer to ensure the success of Monumental Sports. As proposed, this bill will be a Monumental Failure. Stop the Arena! Best, Rafael
Dear Representatives, Please vote "NO" on the HB1514 bill for the arena project at Potomac Yards in Alexandria. This city does not need more density/congestion/traffic that this project will bring -- we are FULL already! There are also significant mass transportation and crime concerns. Lastly, I am opposed to any tax dollars being spent to fund this project when there are other, more important, needs in our community and state. Please vote NO. Thank you for your time and consideration. Elizabeth Yancey
Kindly consider my .opinion. Vote no for bill HB 1514. The city cannot handle the staggering costs To the taxpayers, the increase in crime and the total gridlock on our streets. One only has to look to the District to see the results. Alexandria is better than this. Vote no on HB 1514. Thank you for your attention to my concerns. Sincerely, Mary Quinn
Members of the Committee. I want to express my support for this bill. As a resident of Del Ray I am excited about this opportunity for our community. Bringing jobs, housing and economic opportunity is critical in a post COVID economy that isn’t reliant on office rent development. Please support this bill Bradley Beychok 308 E Custis ave
Vote NO on HB1514. This arena being placed in Potomac Yard would be a mistake. The proposal would severely increase traffic and congestion in an area already struggling with it's traffic load. The Commonwealth and City should not be providing any financial or tax based assistance to disgruntled sports franchise owners.
I am an Alexandria city resident and voter. I vigorously oppose HB 1514. The bill contains completely insufficient financial protections and will expose the public to financial risk. The bill does not assure residents that the immense incremental cost-causation resulting from the arena will be fully covered by arena revenues. Local benefits are effectively negative. The overwhelming majority of my Alexandria neighbors also OPPOSE this misguided and disruptive proposal. Proponents of the arena have conducted misleading polls that do NOT contain a negative, or Do-Not-Support, option. Please do NOT vote in favor of HB 1514.
Once again we find our representatives ignoring the quality of life of their constituents for the promise of revenue and to add insult to injury, using our tax dollars to do so. I am vehemently opposed to this arena. Thank you
There should be no rush to create a sports authority, so please vote no today so that projects aligned with the authority can be given more time for review, analysis, and debate.
I fully support HB1514. The Arena will provide jobs and taxes for Virginia.
This arena is a force, and if it continues to be built, reflect that you the representatives do not reflect us the voters, and never really cared about the well-being of us. You believe that you do but at the end of the day it is complete another false, because if you really cared about us, staffing on firetrucks, police; and most importantly, tackled crime would be at the forefront. This is a very frustrating and unholy matrimony that built upon the fact that a billionaire has promised you something that he may, or may not deliver on. It’s an investment that if government gave to an individual person, not a billionaire, they would reevaluate that.
I am a 15 year resident of Alexandria, VA and I strongly oppose HB 1514. At the end of the day, the arena proposal will cost Virginia taxpayers at least $3.5 billion of taxpayer cash out the door, as debt is unfortunately not free and transportation upgrades are expensive. The legislation in question allows for tax revenues from a significant number of adjacent businesses to be included in the TIF district, meaning ALL tax revenues, including personal and business income taxes, from many businesses, potentially including housing, hotels, convention space, bars/restaurants, etc. will now be diverted from the state and city general funds to pay for a sports venue. Every single dollar of tax revenue diverted towards arena debt is a dollar not spent on other important public works projects that benefit the entirety of the Commonwealth and Alexandria. Additionally, we have NO transparency on the financials of this deal. How do we know if the goals of the plan are achievable if we cannot even evaluate what it takes to get us there? The Virginia General Assembly should demand more. "Trust us bro" and "we'll figure it out later" is not responsible governing. From the City's own consultant's report, it is clear the arena + Phase 1 development returns substantially less economic benefit to VA and Alexandria than the existing Potomac Yard plan. Alexandria officials have publicly confirmed this multiple times. The true economic benefit is purported to be from the long-term phase 2/3 development, which we have no information about. There is no guarantee that this development shows up or that it shows up as modeled. Developer JBG Smith has already pulled out of planned PY development citing economic conditions and high costs of construction. That has not changed and likely will not change any time soon. Research demonstrates that business that are not complementary to sports (everything besides restaurants and bars) usually chose to not located around sports venues due to difficulty in access on event days. And JBG Smith has made clear on recent Alexandria webinar events that they have no plan for how to maintain access to the rest of the development on event days, citing only that this will require "a lot more thinking and planning." How are we supposed to get there during a crush of traffic through a block-style neighborhood development on game day? Are we paying $3.5 billion for a building that will undoubtedly negatively impact our quality of life in exchange for a neighborhood full of chain restaurants and breweries? This is what has happened in Navy Yard and this is exactly what will happen here. We need a compromise that pursues the financial goals of diversifying the tax base and increases tax collections but maintains the character of beloved city. We need development that accomplishes this without diverting hundreds of millions of dollars from the rest of VA towards NoVA traffic problems. We need responsible development that ensures our quality of life and continues to provide important community benefit and access to us all...not just sports fans. Union Market, the Wharf, Mosaic, Mt Vernon Sq, NoMa, and many other new developments did not need a $3 billion sports arena to make them happen. Please vote no on this irresponsible plan. Alexandria deserves better. Virginia deserves better.
I am writing in support of the arena project at Potomac Yards. As a homeowner and 20 year resident of Alexandria I am interested in doing what is right for both current and future Alexandrians. The studies have established that the arena plan has a high likelihood of being very positive for Alexandria and the state of Virginia. I encourage you to advance the project which promises to bring our community new jobs, smart growth, tax diversification, revenue for the city and state, increased housing, transportation investments, growth stimulus, money for affordable housing and schools. These are things we should all vote for. The studies released so far have also demonstrated that experts believe concerns related to traffic, metro and quality of life issues can be successfully mitigated with modest expenses. The expert analysis also reinforces that the project is a low risk high reward investment in our state with a responsible financing structure. Please vote to advance this bill and help bring new investments to our Commonwealth.
Big no on the arena, big no on benefiting Youngkin’s bank account. He already has enough. Stop letting him ruin our lives at Potomac Yards!
I am writing to oppose HB 1514. As this legislation is written, the City of Alexandria is not ensured adequate representation given that we would only have 3 seats on the board. Furthermore, the composition of the board does not allow for representation from the Community. The Authority would be composed of very specific individuals - the language as written suggests that Gov. Youngkin has already decided who would fill the seats. I am very concerned by the lack of community involvement in this process, and this bill does nothing to curtail my concerns. The language of this bill suggests that most of the power and decision making would be ceded to the Authority, which would be run by a bunch of cronies who would not consider the impact of their decisions on City of Alexandria residents.
I join with many who would urge a no vote on this legislation. There has been zero opportunity for meaningful input to those locally as well as the entire commonwealth into this process, let alone time to examine all of the various aspects since the surprise news of it less than two months ago. Even if this is the greatest deal in the history of billion dollar sports subsidies, there has simply not been enough time for stakeholders to examine the various claims that appear to have been slow-rolled by the private entity, spearheading this plan and paying lobbyist for it. Paid lobbyists should not have a greater voice in these chambers than the state taxpayers. Please follow the example of what occurred with the Fairfax county casino legislation, and remove consideration of this in the 2024 legislative session. If the merits are there now, they will be there next year, only with adequate time to examine them by all parties involved.
Dear Senators of the Virginia General Assembly As a proud resident of Alexandria for 30 years, I write to register my opposition to the deal with Monumental Sports Entertainment (MSE) to bring a publicly-funded stadium to the Potomac Yard neighborhood in Alexandria. Please stop this absurd and very ill-advised project proposal - it's insulting to think legislators in Richmond and in our own City of Alexandria think the citizens of Alexandria are not intelligent and are gullible enough to go along with this foolish project. There is zero gain to citizens. We will bear the brunt of the costs, traffic, crowds, increased crime all while the Monumental developers and Ted Leonsis will get tax breaks and get richer. No one buys the argument that it will bring jobs, it will only bring low minimum wage jobs! I realize many Senators don't care about the traffic in Alexandria, but care only about your own traffic issues in your own district but if the Arena becomes reality rush hour will never end in Alexandria. This Arena is destined to destroy the quality of life in Alexandria. This project has all the hallmarks of an overhyped economic development with predictions that will fail to materialize. There will be no rate of financial return adequate to offset the loss of quality of life. My family will certainly consider moving if this becomes a reality. Please oppose funding for this project.
I oppose this arena 100% and urge you to vote no on HB1514-Torian OR at the very least include the proposed reenactment clause that would require the General Assembly to pass the bill again next session before it would take effect. The arena is a horrible gamble for Virginia and Alexandria because: The VA Governor and Alexandria Mayor are trying to rush this deal through without releasing any details or completing any substantive traffic, environmental, or public safety studies or plans. Financial data behind the projections has not been released for independent review. We must have full financial details and all studies and mitigation plans completed before proceeding. This deal is not ready to move forward. Public financing for sports arenas does not provide an economic benefit to the community. Stanford sports economist Roger Noll has this to say about the project: "All publicly subsidized football and baseball stadiums are money losers. A few arenas have broken even if the subsidy was low enough, but no facility with a subsidy of more than two hundred million has ever broken even. A subsidy approaching $1 billion is likely to be a disaster.” Every tax dollar diverted to pay for the arena is a dollar not spent on our schools, roads and infrastructure, healthcare programs, community programs, first responders and public safety, parks and recreation, and other important public benefit projects. We will also not collect almost $400 million in property taxes on the arena complex. The arena will significantly increase traffic on Route 1 in both directions, on the GW Parkway in all directions, and on Glebe Road. There is no way to increase capacity on these roads to handle increased traffic. We will not be able to force everyone to take Metro. Eventgoers will undoubtedly park in close-by neighborhoods. This all creates significant disruption for close-by neighborhoods. There is simply no way to solve the traffic problems this will create.
Senate Finance Committee on Arena Bill Madame Chair and members of Senate Finance Committee: I urge you to vote against this bill. This is not a bill that benefits VA taxpayers. It's a bill that benefits the billionaire owner of several sports teams. The financing for this latest arena project is not significantly different than any others. Taxpayers are being asked to backstop one of the largest public subsidies for this sort of project on record. Sports stadiums and arenas are all money losers, according to sports economists. It’s not surprising therefore that none of the economic studies have been released to the public. That includes a report by JPM Chase that owns the land where the arena would be built. This means that all Virginia taxpayers would be on the hook for paying off this mega debt at some point when the bill comes due. Alexandria residents are not fools either. They know when they are being sold a bill of goods. They know that the traffic impacts will be horrendous and the traffic plan is a joke. They know I will hurt small businesses. They know that transportation funds are being diverted from other more important projects to pay for improvements that won’t make PY a suitable spot to put an arena. We are poaching teams from our neighbors and thus hurting our friends. This is robbing Peter to pay Paul. This is a bad deal for every taxpayer in Virginia. We are saddling our children and grandchildren with 40 years of debt payments to help a billionaire get wealthier and wealthier. This bill should be renamed the Glenn-Dome Billionaire’s Bill. It’s not a Monumental opportunity for VA but a monumental train wreck. It should be sent to the scrapyard where all such bills should go. Vote No to moving this bill forward and save Virginians a lot of money. Andrew Macdonald
Dear Members: As a 29 year resident and business owner in the City of Alexandria, I urge you to vote "NO" on MSE Arena Bills (HB 1514/SB 718). The MSE Arena Bills are drafted to provide Monumental Sports Entertainment (MSE), a company valued at $4B USD, a publicly-funded stadium in the Potomac Yard neighborhood in the City of Alexandria. Governor Youngkin's MSE proposal would reportedly require the General Assembly to authorize as much as $2B USD in public bonds and $106MM USD contributed by the taxpayers of Alexandria with only $403MM USD (19.1%) coming from MSE. This represents a taxpayer gift that increases MSE's valuation approximately 50% to $6B USD with no measurable benefit to the citizens of the City of Alexandria, VA. I strongly oppose this activity and I urge you to vote "NO" on MSE Arena Bills (HB 1514/SB 718). Clift Briscoe, 300 Rucker Place, Alexandria, VA 22301
No on Potomac Yard Arena: (1) area is Tech-Education focused zone NOT a Sports/Entertainment district. Non-complementary activities/focus. (2) area is unable to support vehicular volume on game days. Suburban attendees unlikely to use Metro due to lack of Metro access in many DMV suburban areas.
To the Committee, I write to you as a lifelong Virginian, born in Newport News, raised in Arlington and McLean, public school educated in Arlington and Fairfax counties. I live in the Preston Condominium and have the unit since 2017. My balcony and living room and bedroom windows all face Rt 1/Richmond Hwy. I am able watch the VA Tech innovation campus flagship building be construction out my window. I attended the community meetings in 2017 for this project. At those meetings we heard about the other projected plans for the adjacent land parcels and long-awaited metro station opening timetable. I was happy to hear that the plans included additional house, retail, dining, and offices to activate this area. Two different owners in our condo have sat/currently sit on the City's Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee as the Potomac West Rep. They were blindsided by the news of the coming arena plan just like the regular Alexandria residents. That seems to call into question this entire enterprise. I think that there is a misperception that the City 's residents don't want progress or change in terms of development. I disagree. This is not a historic preservation, "Olde Towne" idea of the 1700s and Gadsby's Tavern-sorr of objection. Like I have said I live across the street from the Potomac Yard strip mall. This is cut and dried about over extending our credit to finance a billionaire"s vanity project and ill-considered transportation/traffic/transit planning. The arena being in this community, my community is nonsensical based on our location and scale. Don't mortgage our future (VA and the city of Alexandria) on the fake numbers of jobs and revenue based on rosy, unfounded projections from developers with ONLY something to gain here. Tell the masterminds of this plan that great, this site can support the Monumental Sports headquarters, eSports, a practice facility (with ample public access), the performance venue, and other associated development from 2017-shpos, restaurants, apartments, bring it on! NONE of these things will pull 20000 people to the area 330 days a year (the numbers that have been floated) but will still drive jobs and revenue to Alexandria just like the my area state reps and the entire city council are evangelizing with the current deal. And you keep all the fans happy and where they been going all along, the Capital One Arena. Crisis averted and much healthier coffers for the city and state!! Thank you.
I want to ice my opposition to House Bill HB1514 to crest a Virginia Stadium Authority in Alexandria. We do not believe subsidizing this project at tremendous taxpayer expense and financial risk to Virginia Taxpayers is a good use of limited state funds, and removing 200 million from the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and having Alexandria Contribute over 100 million for parking and a performance venue at the same time that Alexandria, a much smaller city than DC, wil be sacrificing other projects like schools and affordable housing to fund this mega project. There is only one metro line and one road in and out of the arena so no amount of traffic fixes will solve adding almost 3,000 cars a day. The combined capacity of 26,000 will only have 2,500 parking spaces so this means that we would be relying on a brand new Metro Station to have over 70 million in improvements to accommodate the Arena. Like Metro, we believe the success of the whole region is important and the DC is a better location for these teams and we support our neighbors keeping them.
Dear Delegates, Thank you very much for your service. I am writing to ask you to please vote AGAINST HB 1514, the legislation for a proposed Stadium Authority for the sports arena in Potomac Yard in Alexandria. A large group of Alexandrians and I visited with many of you and senior staff yesterday in the General Assembly Building. We thank you for your time and consideration. This Arena proposal came out of nowhere on December 13th. Now it’s not even eight weeks later, and you are being asked to approve this legislation today. Rushed decisions are rarely good decisions.This is clearly a rushed decision. As a former mayor of Alexandria, I have never seen such a situation like this in my city. My observation is that the vast majority of Alexandrians are strongly opposed to this proposal. The traffic nightmare scenario is a hard truth with regard to Route 1 and its gateway to Reagan National Airport. Route 1 is already congested, not to mention Glebe Road. People will drive as well as use metro, but the roads will be clogged every night for two-thirds of the year. This is truly a traffic disaster in the making if the arena is built and will negatively impact the quality of life in Alexandria as well as in Arlington. Regarding the financial risk, the $1.5 billion bonding package would be the largest in the nation’s history for a sports arena and the largest in Virginia history. Economists across the board have studied sports deals, and most have come to the conclusion that it’s not a good use of public dollars. Please vote no on this legislation. Sincerely, Allison Silberberg __________________________ The Honorable Allison Silberberg Former Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia 1544 Mount Eagle Place Alexandria, Virginia 22302
The Monumental proposal is fiscally irresponsible. -- Could leave taxpayers with a big bill -- Irresponsible waste of taxpayer money to subsidize a wealthy person --The "benefits" of the proposal have no meat behind them, no guarantees. Just pie in the sky. -- The risks are left unstated -- to the tax payer when the pie in the sky plan fails to deliver. To small businesses in Alexandria. To the Commonwealth as this absurd proposal harms access to the income generating airport and harms the econ magnet of Alexandria's history and charm. To businesses throughout the Commonwealth who find the I-95 and Rt 66 corridors even more blocked. -- The costs are high. Exactly how much money and time do you really think it will take to make metro and road improvements? And we all know even with improvements, traffic will be jammed. -- Opportunity costs have not been factored in. What else could go in Potomac Yards that would NOT COST THE TAXPAYER ANYTHING? What else could go there that would provide better jobs? What could go there that would not require massive spending on transportation and not block airport, 95 and 66? -- Finally, the vast majority of Alexandrians has made clear that we do not want this.
You should oppose this bill until more studies can be done. The just released traffic study is not accurate. It indicates rush hour as an actual hour, but anyone who has sat in traffic on 395 or Rt 1 knows that Rush hour is from 4p to 8p. Just this week on Wednesday at 6:30 both Rt 1 and 395 were gridlock. Now you want to add 2800 cars to that. The inadequate study shows a long wait time and that's only part of it. The site is tucked up into a corner of Alexandria with water basically on two sides. You have to cross four mile run on Rt 1 to get there. That is a choke point plain and simple. Adding a bus lane in the middle or turn lanes is not going to solve the problem. It's not realistic. More work needs to be done. Read this article in the post that came out today - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/09/amazon-hq2-capitals-wizards-arena-virginia-alexandria/ Vote NO or at the very least slow down and get more and better info.
Hon. Del. Torian, I urge you to vote NO on H.B. 1514. The sports arena and complex will be a MONUMENTAL disaster. We Alexandrians do not want it. We do not want to be saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt for 40 years. This is money that could be spent on schools, roads and infrastructure improvements, and giving higher salaries to our police officers and firefighters. The arena will NOT benefit Virginians. It is a boodoogle that will line the pockets of a billionaire who can afford to build his own arena wherever he likes. Just not in Alexandria. We do not want our streets to be choked with extra traffic on game days--as it is Rt. 1 is already so congested it's impassable. Additional arena traffic will make it harder for us to go to the National Airport, commute to and from work, and for parents to ferry their children. Our evening rush hour lasts from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., three hours longer than the timeframe touted in the recent transportation study. Local arteries, Route 1 and the two Glebe Roads, cannot be widened, and are already choked. The idea that thousands of people walking or biking to events are going to safely end up on the other side of Route1 in rush-hour traffic is magical thinking. There is no need for heroic, and ultimately insufficient, attempts at traffic remediation at taxpayer’s expense Our neighborhoods will be littered and trashed. And the surge in crime will make it unsafe for us to live in our homes and cause a steep decline in the value of our properties. The supporting financial projections for the arena and entertainment hub development are not credible. Too many studies by impartial experts , negate the project backers’ rosy projections. There are no cost estimates for extra buttressing against the wetland soils, potential brownfield decontamination, pedestrian/bike bridges, and repairing the negative effects this development will have on affordable housing, our general infrastructure, and our natural systems. Moreover, shoring up the sinking, newly built Potomac Yard Metro Station made it the most expensive Metro station to build. Metro administrators say that no funding exists for expansion of this small station. Why chase after more funds to expand this poorly sited Metro station, when four large Metro Stations serve the existing Capital One Arena in DC within walking distance? Alexandria and Arlington residents want DC to thrive. We could instead support shoring up the whole underfunded Metro system for greater public benefit. Once again, I urge you to vote against this bill that will not benefit Virginians. Thank you.
Stadium and sports arena zones are urban deserts most of the time, but become raging torrents of chaos during events. I know this because I'm originally from Seattle, which has two stadiums south of downtown that are deserted concrete slabs mostly except for game days or concerts when cars and massive crowds reign. Taxpayers ended up funding both stadiums. Please don't repeat Seattle's mistake. I moved to Alexandria for it's residential communities and local business. Most of us cherish this. And none of us want to pay taxes to build this, which you can't guarantee won't happen. Please. Thank you.
Decades of economic research unanimously agree that public subsidies for sports venues are not good uses of taxpayer money and do not provide a net economic benefit to their communities. We should not be using billions of dollars of taxpayer monies to subsidize a billionaire. Traffic and transportation planning for this project will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost and will not solve the area’s transportation problems. It will require the state to divert funds from other important transportation projects in the state to serve a small area of Northern Virginia. Transportation issues are likely insurmountable. Route 1, GW Parkway, Glebe Road will see significantly increased traffic. These roads are not candidates for widening to accommodate higher traffic volumes and are already over-utilized daily. Proposed new turn lanes as a traffic management solution are not adequate solutions. While they may help maintain through traffic to some extent, through traffic is already a consistent problem during evening rush without thousands of additional cars on the road. The omission of the GW Parkway from the transportation plan is an egregious oversight. Kimley Horn study makes seemingly inappropriate assumptions, including assuming a rush hour of only one hour (5-6 pm), that only 40 nights a year will seriously impact traffic, that scheduling can prioritize Friday nights and weekends, that the GW Parkway will not be utilized, that DCA airport traffic will not be impacted, etc. Attempts to improve traffic flow will likely cost significantly more than the proposed available $200 million dollars. The arena proposal requires a multi-million dollar renovation to the Potomac Yard metro. These massive costs are unaccounted for in the financial projections for the arena and will require significant additional funds from the Commonwealth and Alexandria City likely diverted from other important projects. There is no long-term or adequate solution for WMATA funding. WMATA’s $750 million budget deficit is a serious barrier to transportation solutions for the proposed arena complex. The project relies on long-term transportation planning. Short-term WMATA funding is not sufficient to ensure success. Additionally, the existing Potomac Yard Station was not designed for and does not have the capacity to serve peak arena traffic. We need Metro to be fully funded before we can proceed with considering this proposal. This project requires long-term Metro funding to succeed, not a short-term fix to get a deal passed. The deal continues to lack critical transparency regarding its finances. Neither the public nor the General Assembly have enough information to assess whether this multi-billion dollar subsidy is actually a good deal for Virginia. We need to see the work behind the numbers before we consider proceeding. Virginia has many critical budgetary needs, including funding for education, infrastructure/transportation (including WMATA), affordable housing, public health, and more. These significant budget issues should take precedence over public financing of sports in Northern Virginia. There has been no opportunity for public input into this project. The General Assembly should not rush this through before there has been a chance for meaningful public input and a chance to hear from constituents in their own voices.
I strongly urge you to oppose the Virginia Sports & Entertainment Authority and Financing Fund. I have lived in Alexandria for 15 years and have serious concerns about this plan and its impact on our local community and the Commonwealth's debt levels. This arena will never live up to the financial projections presented by Monumental and the developers, leaving Virginia taxpayers on the hook for nearly $2 billion in municipal/revenue bonds guaranteed by the Commonwealth. A main reason it will not perform financially is that the location will be inaccessible. There is no possible way to modify the two main thoroughfares in Alexandria (Route 1 and the George Washington Memorial Parkway). The traffic will be horrendous. The metro station cannot handle the volume that an arena would need to accommodate. Parking spillover into Delray and surrounding neighborhoods is sure to occur. The transportation plan released last week is completely inadequate. Arenas never generate the economic boom that team owners and developers promise. There are multiple examples of such failures throughout the US. Additionally, this is being rushed. Many more studies are needed, and more details than currently available. We need to see the full details surrounding the financial projections. I urge you to oppose this bill. It will be dangerous financially for the Commonwealth of Virginia and all tax payers. There is widespread opposition to this plan - please see the attached letter. Please do the right thing. Thank you Leigh Talbot 611 North view Terrace Alexandria, VA 22031
I am writing in oppostion of this bill to create the sports arena. As an Alexandria resident I feel this is being thrust upon us with to little information and too quickly. If this is such a good thing then it should be a real process. Not a compressed review of billions of dollars in spending in 2 months time. It should resonate that the comments that are on here that oppose it are from actual residents who live here and care about the community and life within it. The only support is coming from businesses. Slow this process down! Let's really look at the impact. Look at a real independent traffic study. Why is this being rushed in 2 months time, while it takes years of discussion to get a school built. These "listening" sessions are nothing more than a sales pitch, there is very little listening and an awful lot of selling on why this is such a good thing.
Vote No on the arena proposal it’s a bad deal for Alexandria and the citizens of the Virginia Commonwealth
Dear Mr. Chair and Members of the Committee, I am writing on behalf of the Northern Virginia Chamber to inform you the Chamber strongly supports the proposed Entertainment District at Potomac Yard. This novel project represents a unique opportunity to significantly broaden our tax base from commercial and residential property taxes while offering new avenues for cultural engagement in our community. This new entertainment District promises to attract diverse crowds and provide innovative business collaborations that accelerate economic development throughout Northern Virginia and Greater Washington while celebrating and elevating our Region's exceptional character.
I strongly oppose H.B. 1514. I have been an Alexandria City homeowner for nearly 25 years and a Virginia taxpayer and voter for longer than that. During this time, I have been a practicing securities lawyer. There is grossly insufficient data to support the rosy projections for this development, and it would be fiscally irresponsible for the legislature to move forward on such a paltry record with one of the biggest bond issuances in the Commonwealth's history. Taxpayers will be on the hook for 40 years if the development does not live up to its promises. The traffic study is based on faulty assumptions readily apparent to anyone like me who has commuted daily to DC and uses Route 1 regularly. All prudent investors know that when a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is, and far more diligence is needed. Monumental should not be permitted to borrow billions off of the Commonwealth's balance sheet. I support the January 29, 2024 letter submitted to the General Assembly by the Coalition to Stop the Arena at Potomac Yards. At a minimum, this bill should not be reported from committee until there is further study, an economic impact analysis, and substantial opportunities for meaningful public input.
Vote NO on HB1514
See attached for my testimony.
As a resident of Alexandria I urge you to oppose this bill. We do not have enough information about the finances, it will put a burden on our transportation system and be risky for the taxpayers of Virginia more broadly.
Please don't allow the arena developer. We are being played against DC to get taken advantage of.
As a lifelong Virginian, I urge a no vote on HB 1514. As the Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition, I also urge a no vote on HB 1514. These kinds of economic arrangements almost never yield the promised benefits. The entire process has also been opaque with nearly zero opportunities for community engagement, and there are still many holes in the proposals that cause concern for Sports Fans Coalition and the broader Northern Virginian community. The proponents of the deal have yet to provide the public with details and the data behind their assumptions. I have attached to this form a letter signed by 260 Virginians highlighting all nearly 30 years of economic consensus about how these deals fail. I am happy to continue having conversations with members of the committee, and can be contacted at hess@istreetadvocates.com. Thank you, Brian Hess Executive Director Sports Fans Coalition
I oppose the new development for the Potomac Yard area. My greatest area concern, a s a local citizen, is tithe impact of increased congestion to an already congested area.
As a resident of Old Town Alexandria who lives 1.5 miles from the proposed site and who travels along Rt 1 through Potomac Yards multiple times a week, I ask that you vote NO on the Potomac Yards Sports Arena bill. I oppose it on several grounds. First, this bill is a bad use of taxpayer funds and it puts the state and the City of Alexandria at risk of default and ruining their credit ratings when Monument tries to get out of the deal and move the teams again in 10-15 years, as he has done to the District of Columbia, rather than stay the 40 years it will take to pay off the bonds. If this project was so economically attractive, banks would be rushing to finance it. At a minimum, we can expect Monument to come back in a few years under the “state-of-the-art” clause it will insist be in its lease asking for more money to renovate the arena. Plus, the funding it’s seeking is the most ever proposed for a sports venue which should be another red flag. That dollar amounts but keeps changing - generally trending upwards and it is likely to be even higher in the end when there are construction overruns and soil stability problems. Second, given how Potomac Yards is hemmed in by the River, the airport and existing neighborhoods, there are no feasible transportation remedies to accommodate the number of people who will come to the two venues - sports and entertainment, particularly on nights where there are events at both venues. This proposal would negatively impact the daily lives of Alexandrians who live in Del Rey, Rosemont and Old Town and Arlington residents of Crystal City, Pentagon City and Aurora Hills as well as Fairfax County residents who must commute through the Potomac Yards/Rt 1 corridor. Third, Monument has only provided slides on the feasibility study it commissioned and refuses to produce the full study and the underlying data and assumptions. And the transportation report commissioned by Monument is based on ridiculous assumptions like rush hour in the area is only one hour from 5-6. It is more like 5 hours from 3-8. 20,000+ people arriving at the arena at one time for the start of a game and at the arena or entertainment venue for a concert and 20,000+ people all leaving at the same time will create rush hours of their own. Making a few turn lanes longer will not be adequate to fix this. Fourth, Monumental is planning on introducing sports betting at Capitol Center during the day and presumably would want to do that in the Alexandria arena as well. Alexandrians do not want gambling within our city limits. And finally, this proposal was negotiated by the Governor, Mayor Wilson and the Alexandria city council in secret and they are essentially ignoring the objections of Alexandrians and are trying to steamroll this through the Virginia legislature. You, as legislators, do not have enough unbiased information about the risks and rewards of this proposal at this time to vote yes. At a minimum, vote NO now and tell Monument to come back in a year with a fully fleshed-out plan and independent feasibility and transportation studies as well as an independent environmental impact study. Thank you for your consideration
The National Consumers League urges you to vote "no" on HB 1514. This is a terrible deal for Virginia taxpayers, Wizards and Capitals fans, and residents of the surrounding community. Communities across America continually fall under the spell of billionaire sports team owners who promise the moon in exchange for billions in public money. Please do not vote to make Virginians the state to fall victim to this shell game.
As a business owner and commercial property owner in Del Ray, I am concerned with the significant influx of traffic and people. The proximity to our community that values a small town feel, and a quiet space amid the DC Metro Area would be negatively impacted. Especially our small locally owned businesses, who work very hard to serve and unify our residents. I’d argue it only benefits residents in proximity to attend events. The hike in taxes alone will push people out. An increase in violence is at the top of the list of my issues with this project. We have enough issues along route one, Braddock road, AC High etc already that needs attention. Thank you
Moving the arena to Potomac Yard is a huge mistake. It will create havoc for the community with the unavoidable traffic, given that there is only one metro line, a tiny station that can’t handle crowds, and a route that is totally impractical for fans coming from Arlington.
Before this authority is created to fund $2 billion in construction we the residents of Alexandia and the residents of Virginia should see what exactly that money is being spent on. The city is putting in extra money for the parking garage and performing arts center. So what is being paid by the $2 billion. This is important becaue the attractive thing about this deal for the teams is the development rights. There is a news story out today about this very thing. So is the $2 billion going to build an extremely expensive arena or to build an arena and finance the development around it at low rates so the team owner and developer can reap huge rewards. Let's see what is being funded for $2 billion. They have show how the $2 billion is being funded, but now how it's being spent. If it's on development then some of that should also be used to pay down debt so the bonds are paid off quicker and the development money can go back into maintaining the district. That is how it would really benefit the residents of the city and state. Otherwise it benefits a billionaire and a developer. That question needs to be asked and that needs to be shown before this bill can move forward
As a resident of the City of Alexandria, I’m opposed to the bill because the transportation study shows there will be a negative impact on our quality of life and the funds allocated to remedy traffic and Metro could be better used to serve the residents of Alexandria.
As a resident of the City of Alexandria, I’m opposed to the bill because the process is moving too quickly, the transportation study shows there will be a negative impact on our quality of life and the funds allocated to remedy traffic and Metro could be better used to serve the residents of Alexandria. Thank you for considering my views as you vote on this bill.
I’m writing to oppose the bill. As a lifelong resident of Alexandria and someone who routinely drives rt 1 most nights during the week to get my kids to their various activities I am not convinced that the traffic study addresses the problems that will incur if the arena is hosting 200+ events per year. Depending on the traffic on 395S and GW parkway people rerouting to use Rt 1 it can take up to 30 minutes to go 5.5 miles. I also am opposed to allocating funds to improve metro and traffic mitigation for something that only benefits the arena and not the residents. I can only imagine there are bigger issues facing our state that could use this money to actually have an impact on the wellbeing of our citizens rather than just appeasing a NBA\NHL owner that is disgruntled with current DC politics. Thank you for taking the time to consider my opinion and looking out for the best interest of the residents of Alexandria. Sincerely, Katherine McAdoo
I write today in support of the arena and entertainment district in Alexandria. We have a monumental opportunity to have two professional sports teams and a new world-class entertainment district in northern Virginia at Potomac Yard. Virginia is the largest state in the country without a professional sports team, and building the arena changes that in just a few years. The development will spur new dining, shopping and housing, all of which will redevelop vacant and underutilized land. This new, more stable tax base in Alexandria will be used to invest in our local community's priorities such as affordable housing, better schools and better infrastructure. There will be a massive net economic impact for the Commonwealth. Please vote YES. Sincerely, Ryan Berni resident of Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, VA
I oppose this bill. This is not a good deal for the residents of Alexandria. The citizens did not ask for this. This will make an already bad traffic situation even worse. The traffic study that was completed shows that. These teams already have a place to play. The traffic study shows that it will take 25+ minutes to get from 395 to the arena, that's less than a mile in 25 minutes. That's on peak, but even at non peak it's still an increase in volume. The trade off for the tax revenue is not worth it
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