RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin may be working on a deal to keep a deal to move the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards to an arena in Northern Virginia, in exchange for funding support for toll relief in Hampton Roads.
The Richmond Times Dispatch first reported that Youngkin may be offering a key lawmaker in Hampton Roads a deal in exchange for the sports and entertainment district in Alexandria. Two sources with knowledge of the negotiations for Virginia's budget said Youngkin has offered around $322 million in toll relief to the Hampton Roads delegation.
In exchange, he wants them to support his Potomac Yard arena proposal.
Many are wondering if that is enough to move the arena's biggest opponent out of the way.
State Senator Louise Lucas, whose district includes parts of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk, has been the loudest in opposition to the Monumental Sports and Entertainment Complex, which includes a new arena for the Wizards and Capitals.
On social media, Lucas has blasted Youngkin's arena deal. As head of the Finance and Appropriations Committee, she cut it from the Virginia Senate's version of the budget.
For more than a decade, she has said the tolls for tunnels in Norfolk and Portsmouth hurt people in the region. The rising tolls for tunnels in Hampton Roads stem from a private-public agreement in 2011. It was a deal touted by then-governor Bob McDonnell. Those toll increases went into effect in 2012.
Lucas' team would not comment on Youngkin's proposal to WUSA9. Governor Youngkin's team also would not comment, but sent the following statement:
"While the administration will not comment on private conversations or specific proposals, Governor Youngkin remains committed to working with the General Assembly to create the Sports and Entertainment District that will fund shared priorities across Virginia. The Governor remains open to providing permanent toll relief for the tunnels between Portsmouth and Norfolk from the revenue created from this monumental opportunity."
It's not clear if this proposal would budge Lucas from her opposition to the arena deal, sources tell WUSA9. They also could not say what the breakdown in toll relief for Hampton Roads drivers would look like.
"You're really seeing this Northern Virginia versus rest of Virginia divide here on the willingness to use some of these things that are so important to Northern Virginia, like transit funding, or this arena, as kind of leverage in larger negotiations for policies that people in other parts of the state deem important," said Leslie Caughell, associate professor of political science at Virginia Wesleyan University.
She said this negotiating behind closed doors is not a surprise.
"I think everyone is really clear as to what’s going on here, which is that we’re in this barter kind of portion of the negotiations."