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Virginia lawmakers set to take up proposal to help fund new arena for Capitals, Wizards
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FILE - A general view showing the site for a proposed new stadium for the Washington Wizards NBA basketball team and Washington Capitals HNL hockey team, Dec. 13, 2023, in Alexandria, Va. Virginia lawmakers are set to take up legislation to enable Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan to build a new professional sports arena and entertainment district in Alexandria. The legislation is expected to be among the most high-profile issues legislators grapple with during the 2024 session, which begins Wednesday. - photo by AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Advocates of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's plan to build a new professional sports arena and entertainment district in northern Virginia say the project would be a generational job-creator so lucrative it will pay for itself. Critics, meanwhile, argue the proposal to lure the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals across the Potomac from the nation's capital will amount to an extravagant taxpayer handout to the wealthy owners of the teams' parent company.