PORTSMOUTH, Va. — It's official: The Washington Capitals and Wizards will not be moving to Virginia. This means some of the negotiating between Virginia Republicans and Democrats has also come to an end.
For months, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin pushed legislators to make room in the budget to allow a $2 billion district that would house the new arena in Alexandria, Virginia. This includes several offers to work on other agendas that were important to Democrats, including more tunnel toll relief.
In a statement to 13News Now, the Governor's Office said:
"The Governor remains open to providing permanent toll relief for the tunnels between Portsmouth and Norfolk from the revenue created from this monumental opportunity."
Now that the deal is off, so too is the relief.
"When you feel strongly enough about something, you know you have to make some sacrifices, so I knew I wasn't going to be able to get everything I wanted because I wasn't going to let him get what he wanted," said State Senator, Louise Lucas.
Lucas was an outspoken critic of Youngkin's plan to bring the arena to Virginia. She stopped the plan at every step, blocking it from the Senate's budget proposal entirely.
However, as a Portsmouth native, Lucas has also been vocal in getting more toll relief for Hampton Roads. Political experts speculate the toll relief was geared toward Lucas to gain her support for the arena.
"In fact, we political scientists have a name for it: we call it log-rolling," said Leslie Caughell with Virginia Wesleyan College. "It's essentially a 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' approach to funding requests."
Caughell said it's possible toll relief could be put back on the table in the future, as the governor still has several bills on his desk that he needs to sign or veto. Negotiations could be underway for different pieces of legislation.
Portsmouth Mayor Shannon Glover also told 13News Now his office is in contact with legislators and that getting more tunnel toll relief is a top priority across Hampton Roads.