As businesses exit Washington D.C. due to surging crime, Democrats have resisted plans for the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to relocate from D.C. to Virginia.
Mayor Muriel Bowser (D-D.C.) is pushing the teams to stay after their owner, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, announced relocation plans last year. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) supports financing the move, but some state Senate Democrats oppose it. The teams currently play at Capital One Arena, an area impacted by climbing crime.
Monumental CEO Ted Leonsis has reportedly worried about arena-area crime for months, calling a Virginia move wise. Per police data, incidents within 1,000 feet of the arena increased 168 over the last two years versus the prior two, including more sex abuse, assaults, robberies, thefts, stolen vehicles, and a homicide. Violent crimes doubled.
Bowser offered Monumental $500 million in incentives to stay, saying it would help “avoid any broken promises, breaches, or litigation.” She vowed to enforce leases requiring the teams play in D.C. through 2047, warning: “If Monumental breaks its leases, the short-term impact will be tough…But the city owns the arena land and will own the building should they break lease.”
Bowser’s pitch came as a man was reportedly robbed at gunpoint and knifepoint just outside the arena Wednesday. D.C. police couldn’t confirm the incident.
Youngkin hopes to provide $2 billion in state bonds for a Virginia arena, approved by the House but facing Senate opposition. Despite rising crime, D.C. councilmembers tried lessening punishments last year before the White House intervened.
In 2023, D.C. saw its highest homicide count in 20 years plus numerous carjackings. Former Trump official Mike Gill was recently gunned down in D.C. In response, many businesses have exited for Northern Virginia. Analytics firm CoStar announced relocating to Arlington this week, while the Stadium Sports Bar near Nationals Park cited “uptick in crime” in its closure.
Former President Donald Trump has decried D.C.’s lawlessness, proposing a “federal takeover of this filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment.” Trump said: “We’re going to have the toughest law enforcement…We’re not going to have any more crime and it’s going to look beautiful.”