Union opposition puts new Wizards, Capitals arena project in danger

Leonsis and his company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, announced plans for a 12-acre "entertainment campus" in the Potomac Yard area of Alexandria, Virginia. The project would include a new arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals, who would begin play there in 2028.

The plan had already run into trouble in the Virginia legislature and now opposition from local unions is endangering the project even more. Tuesday, Northern Virginia's AFL-CIO and UNITE HERE – a union that represents hospitality workers – announced they were against the project, after they were unable to reach a deal for union workers.

It's a blow to Leonsis and Republican governor Glenn Youngkin, whose pet project has been derisively called the "Glenndome" by opponents. While Youngkin claims that Virginia's status as a right-to-work state – meaning companies aren't required to hire union members – would keep unions from stopping the process, it looks like his opponents in the legislature plan to do just that.

Based on the deal Leonsis struck with Youngkin, Monumental would only contribute $400 million to the effort while depending on a loan from the state of Virginia for $2.8 billion. That in turn would be paid by bonds, funded by diverting revenues from sales tax and personal income taxes. In other words, Virginia taxpayers - and residents of Alexandria - would foot the bill for roughly 80% of the project.

That isn't going to fly with Sen. Louise Lucas, the chair of the Virginia Senate's Finance & Appropriations Committee. She made her opposition to the project abundantly clear.

"We’re not gonna let billionaires build their fortunes on the backs of our taxpayer dollars," Lucas said in a video. "As you know, they’re talking about going public at some point, after taxpayer dollars has gotten them to the point that they want to get to, and under my watch, I say hell no."

Leonsis has indeed discussed taking Monumental public and he also sold a 5% share in the company to the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the nation of Qatar.

With that being the case, the question becomes whether Virginia taxpayers should really be funding an arena for what could soon be a publicly traded company partially owned by a nation in the Middle East – particularly one unwilling to work with union members in the state.