This past Wednesday, the agreement reached between the Washington Capitals ownership and the state of Virginia to greenlight a two billion dollar investment that will result in the construction of a new sports pavilion that will host Washington Capitals games, along with a first class entertainment center in the Alexandria area, bordering the U.S. federal capital, was made public. It is therefore a simple change of location, not a change of market. All that remains is approval by the state legislature, which is currently only a matter of time.
A change that will also affect the NBA's Washington Wizards, who share ownership with the NHL franchise, the company Monumental Sports & Entertainment, with businessman Ted Leonsis as the visible face and executor of the company of which he is the founder and majority shareholder.
This will be the Caps' third home since their foundation in 1974, after the US Airways Arena in Landover (Maryland) from 1975 to 1997 and their current pavilion, the Capitol One Arena in Washington D.C. itself.
Times change at breakneck speed, and facilities such as the current one have noticed the advance of technology and the quantity and quality of services offered by the latest generation facilities, and mobilizing fans to watch the games live requires giving them the best, especially in a culture focused on entertainment and spectacle such as the American one.
Therefore, not only the facility itself, but also the services and entertainment that surround it, are intended to be the bait to attract fans to the stands.
The opening last May of a new subway station at Potomac Yard puts the icing on the cake for the project, facilitating one of the key aspects of the project, accessibility.
Capitol One will live on
Obviously, the smiles on the faces of those in Virginia have turned into tears for the capital authorities, who are seeing one of the main attraction poles of downtown vanish.
Thelocal authorities were thinking until the last minute that the teams could stay where they are, but finally they have not been able to meet Leonsis' demands and the move will be a reality.
The Washington Mystics of the WNBA will continue to play at Capitol One Arena, and the 82 games left free by the 41 home games of the Capitals and Wizards, open up possibilities of using the building for other events.