D.C. Government Nearing Deal To Build Wizards Practice Complex
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Washington Wizards will get a new, largely taxpayer-funded practice facility in a long-neglected corner of the city, the team and District of Columbia officials announced Tuesday.
The centerpiece of the facility in southeast Washington will be a 5,000-seat arena that, in addition to hosting Wizards practices, will also become the new home venue for the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Both teams currently play and practice at Verizon Center in downtown Washington.
The $55 million complex will be funded largely by the city, according to Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration, which negotiated the deal.
Events DC, the city's quasi-public stadium authority, which is funded by hotel and restaurant taxes, will pay $27 million to build the facility, and the District government will contribute $23 million in funding that was already slated for redevelopment of the city-owned site. The facility will be built on the east campus of St. Elizabeths, which was formerly the site of a mental hospital.
Bowser, a Democrat who took office in January, said the project would create 300 permanent jobs and 600 construction jobs and bring in $90 million in new tax revenue over 20 years.
"This is a huge win for the District and another sign that Washington, D.C., is a city on the move," Bowser said in a statement.
Bowser's administration also finalized a deal largely negotiated by her predecessor to put $180 million in taxpayer funds and tax breaks toward a stadium for D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Administration officials have also been in touch with the Washington Redskins about their desire for a new stadium to replace FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, in about a decade.
The practice facility would be owned by Events DC and leased to Wizards and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis through his company, Monumental Sports and Entertainment. Leonsis will chip in $5 million for construction costs and another $10 million for "redevelopment and community philanthropic investments" at the St. Elizabeths site. The facility is slated to open in the fall of 2018.
"We look forward to working together to build a best-in-class Wizards and Mystics training facility and a fantastic new home venue for Mystics games," Leonsis said in a statement.
------
Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)