Ted Leonsis has reached a deal with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser to keep the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington DC through at least 2050.
Leonsis signed a letter of intent late Wednesday afternoon formalizing an agreement between his parent company, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, and the city.
The deal comes after attempts to build a new arena in Alexandria, Virginia failed to pass the state’s legislature.
“We made tons of mistakes,” Leonsis said Wednesday night when asked whether Monumental had made errors since the December announcement about Potomac Yard. “But we manage to outcomes, and the outcome is exactly the right one.”
Bowser said: “We are the current home, and the future home, of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.”
Monumental will receive $500 million in cash from the city to renovate Capital One Arena.
Leonsis said on Wednesday that he had been surprised by the criticism of moving the Wizards les than four miles from Capital One Arena to Potomac Yard.
Leonsis said he considers the District, suburban Maryland and suburban Virginia “one community” and noted that the Capitals and Wizards used to play in Landover, Md., at Capital Centre before the teams moved to downtown Washington.