Le plan « Je vous salue Marie » cherchait à associer Caps, Wizards Arena et le casino de Fairfax

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1. washingtonpost 8 mois ago

   RICHMOND — With Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to build a $2 billion arena in Alexandria for the Washington Capitals and Wizards in jeopardy, three political and business figures have been pitching an unlikely Hail Mary: an idea to pair the sports arena with a new casino in Fairfax County.

   Instead of [building the arena in Potomac Yard](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/13/capitals-wizards-move-alexandria-potomac-yard/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4) with taxpayer-backed bonds, their plan called for putting it in the Tysons area alongside the casino, with tax revenue generated by gambling used to guarantee the arena bonds.

   The idea has been flatly rejected by Youngkin (R) and the teams’ owner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, who still hope that their original plan to build the arena in Potomac Yard will overcome [setbacks in the General Assembly](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/09/youngkin-vetoes-bills-arena-virginia-session/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5). And the casino idea itself has been unpopular in Northern Virginia: Amid vocal [opposition from residents and local officials](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/01/19/casino-tysons-corner-fairfax/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5), the General Assembly [kicked a bill calling for a casino in Tysons](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/02/virginia-casino-bill-tysons-fairfax-delay/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) in February to next year’s legislative session.

   But the three who have pitched the casino-arena idea — Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax); Christopher Clemente, chief executive of Comstock, the company seeking to build the casino; and Ben Tribbett, a prominent Fairfax political and business consultant who counts Surovell, Comstock and the [arena’s chief opponent, Sen. L. Louise Lucas](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/10/virginia-arena-leonsis-lucas-youngkin/?itid=lk_inline_manual_6) (D-Portsmouth), as clients — say it could revive both projects and satisfy Lucas, the Senate Finance and Appropriations chairwoman and the arena’s self-described [one-woman “roadblock,”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/10/virginia-arena-leonsis-lucas-youngkin/?itid=lk_inline_manual_6) that the sports complex would not put the state’s finances at risk.

   **Read more:** [**https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/24/virginia-arena-fairfax-casino-wizards-capitals/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com**](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/24/virginia-arena-fairfax-casino-wizards-capitals/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)