Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis sat down with state Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) just days before she prevented the arena from winning approval.
Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas addresses the Senate floor on March 9 at the Virginia Capitol in Richmond. RICHMOND — Nearly eight months after Ted Leonsis first met with Gov. Glenn Youngkin to conjure big visions for a Wizards and Capitals arena in Virginia, he finally sat downthe Democrat from Portsmouth who rose from shipyard worker to become, at 80, a force in Richmond. He sized her up: “You’re a badass,” he said, which she loved.
The General Assembly’s leaders have to be on board for the arena plan to work. Lucas, who this year became chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, has enormous power as one of the gatekeepers of the state budget. And after three decades as a Black woman climbing the ladder in the former capital of the Confederacy, Lucas felt she had been shut out of the dealmaking process.
“The way the Senate has handled this opportunity I fear damages Virginia’s business environment,” he said at his Thursday news conference. “It’s a clear signal … will not be evaluated on their merit, but instead will be viewed through the lens of partisan parochial interests. … I believe this is a massive mistake for the commonwealth.”
Early in the legislative session, some of those involved in pushing for the project suggested bringing the Washington Wizards Dancers to Richmond for the Capitol Square Basketball Classic, an annual charity basketball doubleheader that pits the governor’s office against a team of lobbyists and the House versus the Senate. But with prospects for the arena seeming to dim as the Feb. 29 game approached, there were concerns that the move would look like a premature victory lap.
With support for the arena slipping away as the General Assembly headed for adjournment, Scott, Torian and three Republicans on the budget conference committee — Terry G. Kilgore , Terry L. Austin and Robert S. Bloxom Jr. — met with Youngkin on Wednesday at the Capitol Square high-rise that houses the governor’s offices.
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