The D.C. Council on Tuesday unanimously approved $515 million for renovations to Capital One Arena and improvements to the surrounding area.
The council approved the appropriation of the funds, and the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser will spend the next two months hashing out the final terms of an agreement with Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the Ted Leonsis-led entity that owns the Washington Wizards and Capitals.
The allocation of the funding follows last week’s agreement between Monumental and D.C. to keep the teams in the District until at least 2050. Leonsis launched a bid late last year to move the teams to a new arena in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard, but that effort fell apart in recent weeks as state Democrats, led by state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, balked at Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plan to issue $1.4 billion in state bonds to finance a $2 billion arena-anchored entertainment district.
