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Monumental Sports, the group that owns the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Washington Capitals of the NHL, has given up on their plans to move the teams across the Potomac River to Alexandria, Virginia.

Both teams currently play at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, DC.

Team owner and owner of Monumental Sports Ted Leonsis and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin initially announced the deal in December 2023 – with a promise of a tax subsidy from Virginia taxpayers of $1.35billion.

In a statement from the City of Alexandria, the talks for the project have ‘ended’ and the proposal to create a development district with a new arena for the teams ‘will not move forward.’

Virginia’s House speaker also confirmed he’d been told that Leonsis is no longer considering a deal to relocate them from the District of Columbia.

The Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals will be staying in DC, for the time being

 The teams were initially slated to leave Capital One Arena for a new home in Virginia

House Speaker Don Scott told The ᴀssociated Press he had received that news from Justin Wilson, the mayor of Alexandria, where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin had hoped to land the teams.

The city said in a statement posted to its website that it was disappointed in the outcome. 

The development came after an incentive plan offered by Youngkin failed to gain traction in the Democratic-controlled General ᴀssembly.

‘We negotiated a framework for this opportunity in good faith and participated in the process in Richmond in a way that preserved our integrity. 

‘We trusted this process and are disappointed in what occurred between the Governor and General ᴀssembly,’ the city’s statement said.

Daniel Gleick, a spokesman for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, said he had no information he could share ‘at this time.’

Youngkin’s press office had no immediate comment. A spokeswoman for the teams’ parent company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Youngkin and Leonsis announced at a public event in December that they had reached an understanding on the outlines of a plan calling for a new $2 billion development district with a new arena in Alexandria, just a few miles from where the teams currently play.

Team owner Ted Leonsis (L) and Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin (R) initially announced the deal to build a new arena in Alexandria, Virginia back in December of 2023

The proposal called for the General ᴀssembly to set up an authority that would issue bonds to finance the majority of the project, backed partly by the city and state governments and repaid through a mix of projected tax revenues recaptured from the development.

Youngkin and other supporters said the development would generate tens of thousands of jobs, along with new tax revenues beyond what would have been needed to cover the financing.

But the plan faced opposition from labor unions, Alexandria residents concerned about traffic and D.C. officials who feared the loss of the teams would devastate downtown Washington.