Sources — Ted Leonsis plans to move Wizards, Capitals to Virginia

Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, the CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, is preparing to move his NBA and NHL franchises to a proposed new arena complex and entertainment district in northern Virginia, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

The plan, expected to be unveiled at a news conference with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday morning in Alexandria, is for the two teams to move to a massive new development in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard neighborhood, sources said.

Virginia state lawmakers voted Monday to approve the arena project in northern Virginia, the Washington Post reported. A final vote of the state’s full general assembly is needed to pass the project, which would create an 8,000,000-square-foot campus site in Alexandria.

ABC7 in Virginia reported that the teams could break ground by 2025 and begin playing there by 2028.

The Wizards and the Capitals have been playing in Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., since 1997 and will continue to do so until a proposed new arena complex could be constructed sometime in the coming years. Leonsis and Washington city officials had been discussing the city’s possible contributions to arena renovations, with Leonsis seeking $600 million in public monies. City officials have said they want to work with Leonsis to keep the teams in the Chinatown area of the city’s downtown.

Later Tuesday, as news of Leonsis’ plan began to spread, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new bill offering Monumental Sports $500 million in financing for «a complete renovation and modernization» of Capital One Arena.

«This proposal represents our best and final offer and is the next step in partnering with Monumental Sports to breathe new life and vibrancy into the neighborhood and to keep the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals where they belong — in Washington, DC,» Bowser said.

Leonsis could exit the Capital One Arena lease in 2027.