The proposal by Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Ted Leonsis and supported by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to move the Washington Capitals hockey team and Washington Wizards basketball team from D.C.’s Capital One Arena to a new $2 billion sports and entertainment complex in the Potomac Yard section of Alexandria would be in the district of gay Virginia State Sen. Adam Ebbin.

Ebbin, a Democrat whose 39th senatorial district includes parts of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax counties, won election to his Senate seat in 2011 after having served in the Virginia House of Delegates for eight years. 

The Potomac Yard neighborhood is located adjacent to Richmond Highway, also known as Rt. 1, just south of the Crystal City section of Arlington, which is host to the new East Coast national headquarters of the corporate giant Amazon.

A longtime advocate for LGBTQ issues in the Virginia General Assembly, Ebbin is quick to point out that both the General Assembly and the Alexandria City Council must approve the proposed sports complex before it is finalized, and he plans to carefully study the proposal and its ramifications for his constituents.

“I will evaluate it closely,” he told the Washington Blade in a Dec. 14 interview. “It’s certainly a major boost to the Potomac Yard-Alexandria-Virginia economy,” he said. “But there are also some transportation challenges that have to be weighed very seriously,” he points out, noting the proposed deal includes funding of up to $200 million for transportation improvements

Supporters of the proposal point out that the project would be located next to the recently opened Potomac Yard Metro station and many of those attending games would be expected to travel by Metro. But Alexandria city officials note that the small size of the Potomac Yard station would have to be greatly expanded to accommodate the thousands of people arriving to attend Capitals and Wizards games. 

The sports complex proposal calls for 2,500 parking spaces in an underground garage and  additional above ground parking is also planned. 

Despite these plans, some critics of the proposal say a large influx of people who will arrive by car will cause major traffic backups that could spill over into the nearby residential neighborhoods. 

“I’m going to be analyzing the proposal very closely, weighing the tremendous economic development potential against any community concerns that arise, particularly in the area of transportation,” Ebbin said.

“And I’m going to be looking to learn more about how the $200 million transportation improvements will be spent and whether that is adequate and how it would benefit my constituents,” he told the Blade.  

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council have come under criticism from local sports fans and local business advocates who say the mayor and Council failed to take adequate steps to work out a deal with Monumental Sports & Entertainment owner Leonsis to keep the  two teams in D.C. 

Critics point out that the loss of the two teams will create a major economic blow to the Chinatown-downtown D.C. area where  the Capital One arena is located as well as an economic blow to the city as a whole.

Bowser and City Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) dispute claims that they failed to take adequate steps to keep the two teams in D.C. They say the city did all it could, given its financial constraints, to offer Leonsis a $500 million deal to keep the two teams in D.C. 

But critics say the offer was too little too late, and the mayor and most but not all Council members ignored Leonsis’s outreach to Virginia officials over a year before the Potomac Yard deal was announced last week.

When asked by the Blade what message he has for D.C. sports fans, including his D.C. LGBTQ friends who may be upset over the potential loss of their hometown teams, Ebbin said he did not think they are losing the two teams.

“This isn’t my deal. It’s a deal that I’m evaluating very carefully for community benefit and benefits for the commonwealth and for the city [of Alexandria],” Ebbin said. “So, I don’t really have a comment as to or if the hockey fans will have to ride a few more stops on the Metro or for the basketball fans who would have to ride a few more stops on the Metro,” he continued.

“I know fans are very invested in their team’s location,” he said. “But it is not like they’re moving to Arizona or even to Fairfax County. We’re still within the DMV,” Ebbin said.

“But again, I haven’t made any final decision,” he concluded. “I recognize that this is a big catalyst and that it could have a total economic impact of over $12 billion over the next several decades. And transportation is a big part of the planned development. But I’m looking forward to learning more.”

Although the Potomac Yard proposal appeared to draw support from Alexandria city officials and many local Northern Virginia sports fans, a group of Alexandria residents on Dec. 13 began circulating a petition strongly opposing the project on the website change.org.

The website, which as of Dec. 17 claimed 164 people signed the petition, says the project would ruin their communities and “put taxpayer money into billionaire pockets.”