Collapse of NBA, NHL arena deal prompts recriminations, allegations of impropriety in Virginia

The majority owner of the Washington Wizards and Capitals, Ted Leonsis, told a crowd in December he had "goosebumps" at the thought of moving his NBA and NHL teams from Washington to Virginia, "if all goes as planned."

It did not.

Leonsis' handshake deal with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to relocate the teams to a taxpayer-backed arena in Alexandria, Va., collapsed Wednesday, weeks after a bumpy slog of a defeat in the Virginia General Assembly. Leonsis, apparently not willing to wait for a second shot in Virginia, reemerged in Washington, which had offered his Monumental Sports & Entertainment a more than half-billion-dollar US arena deal to stay.

The demise of the project, a top priority for Youngkin, set off an extraordinary round of bitter recriminations among Virginia officials and companies that were parties to the deal, including allegations of possible impropriety and slander. It also sparked fears about impacts to the state's future economic development prospects.

"We made mistakes. I know the governor made mistakes. Monumental made mistakes. JBG made mistakes. And I'm sure the General Assembly made mistakes," Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said of the key players.

The outpouring of blame began when Alexandria announced the negotiations were over Wednesday, in a statement that expressed disappointment in "what occurred between the Governor and General Assembly."

Democratic leaders of the General Assembly blamed Youngkin.

"He mismanaged the process," said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who had agreed to sponsor legislation underpinning the deal. The legislation called for a quasi-governmental entity to issue bonds to finance most of the project, repaid through a mix of projected tax revenues recaptured