Now, Ms. Bowser and Ted Leonsis, the teams’ current owner, can be the architects of downtown’s post-pandemic revival — if both sides cultivate the spirit they showed Wednesday, when Mr. Leonsis signed the term sheet and suggested the city should start making T-shirts that say, “It’s easier and better to do business in Washington, D.C., than it is to do in Virginia.”
The city has to make that statement a reality — for Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Leonsis’s company) and other businesses considering downtown. It starts with D.C. Council swiftly passing the deal (which is expected). Improving public safety and fast-tracking the Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood’s rejuvenation will be crucial. Violent crime is down almost 20 percent this year, an encouraging trend. The mayor’s task force to re-envision Gallery Place is also off to a promising start. Mr. Leonsis and his top staff need to be included, and city officials need to be more responsive to business owners’ concerns, such as about excessive noise and other nuisances, than they have in the past.
The deal Ms. Bowser struck with Mr. Leonsis, which they negotiated for weeks in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, required more than money. Her pitch, which included $500 million over three years from the city for arena upgrades and another $15 million for upgrades to the alley connecting the arena to Gallery Place, was undeniably favorable to Mr. Leonsis. But Virginia had offered 12 acres of space for the teams and company to grow. The city didn’t have spare land. What it could offer was the Gallery Place mall, adjacent to the current arena, and suddenly largely vacant. She sold Mr. Leonsis on taking over much of it. She also offered more parking for the company and some sites for a new practice facility.
Other parts of the agreement promise 17 police officers for games, a dedicated ride-share drop-off area and permission to close an adjacent street to cars before game time. These changes will enhance safety and the overall experience. The city had already made the area around the arena one of its first “drug free zones.” This should help deter drug dealing and use near the Gallery Place Metro stop.
As for Mr. Leonsis, he needs to keep his word and tout downtown to other business leaders. The area around the arena requires more restaurants and shops but also more companies. Mr. Leonsis is a forward-looking owner. He has made the nation’s capital a hub for esports, for example, in addition to building the championship-winning Capitals hockey team. One lesson we learned from studying downtown revivals in cities such as Cleveland and Calgary is that a key to success was a strong business leader helping catalyze turnarounds, recognizing that their fortunes depended on inspiring others to invest in the city, too. Many people will pick up Mr. Leonsis’s calls (or, at least, take him up on an offer to watch a game). After several years in which fewer folks have been venturing downtown they need to see it again.
Even with this deal in place, and even with a sustained effort to improve Chinatown, the city will still have to figure out how to revive the rest of downtown in the post-pandemic era. With some — though still not many — office buildings undergoing conversion to residential use, there are signs of new life in the core. The district should ease unnecessary building requirements that create obstacles for developers while investing in parks, public transportation and other services. Meanwhile, the federal government, which leases large amounts of space in Washington, should bring more workers back to the office and release the square footage it no longer needs, so buildings can be put to better use — and downtown will feel less empty.
Pollin took a chance on downtown D.C. Now, Mr. Leonsis is doing the same. Two major sports franchises staying until at least 2050 can help the city transform vacant offices and storefronts into the dynamic urban center it had been. If, that is, city officials seize the opportunity.
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