DC IS MONUMENTAL

Dear Mr. Leonsis:

On December 2, 1997, Downtown DC was put on a new path forward. The energy and
excitement in our city was palpable. DC was ready to welcome our teams home. President
Clinton came to opening night. It was a sold-out game: Wizards versus SuperSonics. That
night, the Wizards got the win and so did our city.
The rest is history: The MCI Center transformed Chinatown and we began our journey to
becoming the Sports Capital. Countless memories have been made in the years between – at
games and concerts, monster truck rallies and comedy shows, all while a vibrant downtown
came to life around it. That was Downtown DC’s first comeback.
Today, we have the opportunity to do it again.
We have the chance to once again embark on a once-in-a-generation transformation of our
downtown. We can set a new bar for urban arenas and build an unparalleled fan experience,
while also seamlessly connecting Capital One to the community and firmly establishing the
arena as the epicenter of entertainment in our nation’s capital.
Downtown DC is the economic engine of the District. Together, as Mayor and Chairman of
the Council, we firmly believe that an investment in the renaissance of Downtown DC, which
centers around the transformation of Gallery Place-Chinatown, is an investment for our
entire city and in our future prosperity.

Sincerely, Muriel Bowser Phil Mendelson

Mayor Chairman, DC Council
MONUMENTAL DC THE SPORTS
MADE CAPITAL
Washington is the #SportsCapital and Monumental helped make it so. We
are one of the few cities that the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and NWSL
all call their home! We are a city with great universities, teams and high
school legends, each with rich legacies. The leadership and commitment
DC is home to…
• The Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup Champions)
“There aren’t that
many places where
of Monumental Sports has helped Washington, DC maintain its title as the
• The Wizards
Sports Capital! Here, we give world-class teams and athletes the platform
• The Mystics (2019 WNBA Champions)
to inspire the world!

a local resident, the

• Capital City Go-Go
• Wizards Gaming District
• Caps Gaming
•
•
District E
Team Liquid
president, can go
a few blocks and
catch a game.”
—David Stern, Commissioner of the NBA (1984-2014)
With no off-season, Capital One Arena is DC’s premier
sports and entertainment venue. More than a place to
“What we’ve seen around stadiums and
convene spectators, it provides experiences that bring
people together – and the effects extend far beyond the
walls of the building itself. The experiences create lasting
memories for generations and are a catalyst for impact
across our community.
arenas in our city has been nothing short
of transformational. We saw it when the
then Bullets, now Wizards, moved from the
suburbs to where they belong, to Downtown
Chinatown, and what it meant to our city. And
I always like to tell good business stories of
DC, because we know how great a company
Monumental Sports is – and we like to think
that DC has been a part of that.”
—DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
MONUMENTAL A VIBRANT
MEANS DOWNTOWN

The heartbeat of Washington, DC is
a vibrant Downtown as a world-class
entertainment destination – filled with
thriving restaurants and retail, nightlife,
and renowned cultural institutions. And
now we are embarking on a new chapter,
another renaissance, where Capital One
Arena pulls us into the future. We can bring
people together in the way only sports,
culture, and entertainment truly can.
Unique Destinations
The Vision: Gallery Place: • Capital One Arena
DC’s Entertainment Epicenter • Walter E. Washington Convention Center
• National Portrait Gallery
The vision for Gallery Place-Chinatown is to be DC’s entertainment epicenter, offering a top-tier
• Shakespeare Theater Company
destination for global, national, regional, and local visitors alike. The ambition is to capture the
enormous opportunity presented by having world-class museums, a modernized Capital One Arena, • National Building Museum
convention goers having Gallery Place in mind as a “must see,” outdoor festivals, re-energized shopping • City Center
and dining, and superb public transportation all happening at once in a compact area of the City.
• Woolly Mammoth Theater
The Downtown DC Action Plan identifies how DC will leverage the unique amenities and location of • Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library
Gallery Place-Chinatown to catalyze DC’s economic comeback and includes: • Carnegie Library Apple Store
• Curated Experiences and Activations that are designed intentionally and programmed to build • Ford’s Theater
momentum and a renewed sense of activity, while we work on long-term business attraction. • Jose Andres Restaurant Group
• Expanded Pedestrian Spaces to increase comfort, capacity and variety, and provide locations for
events and gatherings that do not exist today..
• Outdoor Dining can be encouraged through changes in policy and in the public realm itself to create
new and visible street-level opportunities and activity.
• More Neighborhood Amenities for the new residents the District is seeking to bring, including a
cleaner and more welcoming experience along 7th Street, new park and public spaces oriented
more toward local residents and employees.
The Plan: Capital One Arena
Modernization
With essentially a complete makeover (inside and out), Capital
One Arena will rank among the best entertainment venues in the
nation, with an emphasis on both a great patron experience and
a great neighborhood experience.

INSIDE: More Social, More Seating, More Selections

The modernization objectives for the Capital One Arena are to enhance the customer experience
with improved concessions and social areas, to offer optimized seating and premium product
options, to invest in critical infrastructure improvements, to offer integrated technology, and to
enhance ingress and egress.

OUTSIDE: More Connected, More Choice

Focused attention to how a renovated and modernized Capital One Arena interfaces on all four
streets that surround it, and how the public realm and food and retail amenities along those streets
are programmed, will be among the District’s priorities. This is the pivotal moment to reposition the
arena to be welcoming not only on game days, but at all other times as well, and be oriented to the
street so that the adjoining neighborhood is active, dynamic, and safe.
The Neighborhood:
A Big Idea for Gallery Place is to add live music adjacent and to
complement the entertainment taking place at the Capital One
Arena. A new live music venue at Gallery Place (the building)
could be created and fill a void in the market for a 2,000 to
3,000-person venue. This would vastly increase the number and
diversity of events in the neighborhood. The renovation of the
Capital One Arena together with the renewal and reuse of the
Gallery Place building would breathe new life and a new sense of
identity for Gallery Place-Chinatown and establish the brand of
the neighborhood as DC’s Culture and Entertainment Epicenter.
Hotels and Tourism:
More than 22 million people visit DC each year. They come to see the White House and the Capitol;
the world-renowned Smithsonian museums; the monuments and the National Mall. They gather for
conventions, expos, and conferences that change the world. From uniquely-DC events like Presidential
Inaugural Balls to the more than 700,000 attendees hosted annually at the Convention Center, Gallery
Place-Chinatown is a hotel and tourism destination.
Within a 15-minute walk of the Capital One Arena are some of the most recognized hotel and
boutique hotel brands in the world including, the Conrad, the Hay Adams, the Waldorf Astoria and the
Intercontinental.
Public Transit:
Unparalleled Transit Access
Washington, DC has the infrastructure of a major, cosmopolitan, interconnected
urban city. Our metro system was named the #1 Best Public Transportation System
for Large Metros, and the Capital One Arena is served by every line in the system,
with stations at Gallery Place-Chinatown, Metro Center, and Convention Center, not
to mention 24-hour Metro Bus service.
A Walkable City
DC was named the #2 city in America for walking and commuting by bike, and one
of the most walkable cities in the U.S. – and a walkable environment is a dynamic
one. As part of the downtown ecosystem, people who are walking to the Capital
One Arena or passing by it are reminded of its role in bringing the city events and
experiences that make memories for a lifetime.
Arts and Culture: Food and Retail: “Is there anything better than
watching the Washington
Washington, DC is a city where lifestyle and community meet A Food Culture Wizards or Capitals at
The Washington, DC culinary landscape includes 25 Michelin ratings, James Beard awards,
innovation and impact; where history, heritage, passion, and AA Five-Diamond ratings, Bib Gourmand awards, and more. The restaurant community in DC Capital One Arena? Our Penn
diversity are the pride of its residents. DC is home to more than 150 is driving a culinary revolution. The food and restaurant scene at Gallery Place-Chinatown
museums, art galleries, and performance venues, 45 of which seat has strong and notable anchors and is evolving in line with DC’s dynamic dining scene and Quarter restaurants have fed
its patrons.
more than 27,000 people. Gallery Place-Chinatown boasts a DC for over 30 years. Now,
concentration of those museums and galleries and is the natural World Class and Local Shopping we are going one step further
Prior to the pandemic, DC had an expanding ecosystem of national and local retailers, with
neighborhood to draw visitors to the National Mall into a a growing number of makers and creatives. The retail opportunity now at Gallery Place- and bringing an incredible
Chinatown is to leverage the success of the luxury market at CityCenterDC, enhance the
vibrant, local arts and culture experience. anchor department stores and program a retail eco-system that exists along F, G, H and I dining experience to you
Streets that connects Gallery Place-Chinatown to Metro Center and the White House.
while you enjoy an event,
show or game at our new
Signature Club & Lounge.”

—Chef José Andrés

 “What was once the MCI Center
What Does Gallery Place/Capital One Arena and is now Capital One Arena
has forever transformed this
Mean to You? “Saw my first
Beyonce concert
neighborhood. Where there were
“Gallery Place/Chinatown to me once vacant parking lots and little
there. Lifelong
activity, there are now people in
Since construction of the Capital One Arena, more than $12.6 memories.” means home. My first apartment
Capitals jerseys jostling for sidewalk
– Don after college was at 5th and
billion dollars in development has followed within Gallery Place. Massachusetts Ave. I loved hopping space with diners heading to
restaurants and people shopping at
This fuels local businesses, creates jobs, and ensures the on the Circulator bus to work,
the holiday market.”
meeting friends for dinner and
neighborhood remains a vibrant place for people to gather. Each drinks and attending sporting – DC resident
year, the arena generates more than $25 million in annual tax events and concerts at the Arena—
all literally in my backyard!”
revenue for the DC Government, which supports things like our
– Richard
infrastructure, our schools, and our communities.

“I saw Michael Jordan’s last

“I remember when Gallery “When my niece was 13, I took
“I was able to fulfill game ever at the Arena when
Place opened, and it seemed to her to see her favorite artist,
my lifelong dream he was with the Wizards. We
light up the sky! It reminded Justin Bieber. Although my
of seeing ʻThe Boss’ didn’t win, but he CHOSE
“I fell in love with hockey there me of Times Square—of course
Bruce Springsteen. to come to DC. It was an hearing took a while to recover
and went mad for the Caps on a smaller scale. It brought
Amazing!” absolutely incredible send-off and she is now an adult, it was
with thousands of other fans a sense of life, light and
I’ll never forget.” a memory we both cherish.”
watching on the Jumbotron – Karyn excitement that was needed.”
outside for their run to winning – Ben – DC resident
– Tonya
the Stanley Cup. ALL CAPS!”
– Betsy
MONUMENTAL TO DC AND ITS
MATTERS RESIDENTS
A pillar of the community, Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s impact on
DC also extends to a number of incredible organizations doing meaningful
So many of our critical organizations
benefit from your important work, “It is my conviction
that to be happy, all of
and transformative work in our communities. leadership and presence in DC
• DC Central Kitchen
•
•
Martha’s Table
Children’s National Hospital us must find a higher
calling of some sort…
• The DC College Access Program
• The DC College Success Fund
• Georgetown University
•
•
St. Elizabeths Sports Arena
Sycamore & Oak
[and] I believe happy
•
•
The Greater Washington Partnership
DC Public Library Foundation people live their years
on this planet as if they
are on a mission.”
—–Ted Leonsis, The Business of Happiness
 DC IS MONUMENTAL
MONUMENTAL IS DC
The Commitment:
The District is committed to ensuring Monumental Sports & Entertainment remains here and thrives here. We will be a strategic partner
in unveiling the next generation of the Capital One Arena. In addition to the strong financial terms included in the city’s proposal, we
are committed to offering a myriad of additional contributions and benefits from District government agencies, including public safety,
permitting, leadership and decision maker access to ensure a successful project and enduring partnership.

District Financial Commitment

The District shall provide $500 million over three years beginning fiscal year 2025, and shall continue to provide the Real Estate Tax
Abatement and below market rent, each valued at approximately $10 million annually.

Additional Contributions and Benefits

1 2
Safety and Security. The District
will provide supplemental safety
and security measures, by multiple
District agencies around the Capital
One Arena and the St. Elizabeths
Entertainment and Sports Arena,
including traditional security,
violence prevention and interruption
initiatives, and crime prevention
infrastructure such as security
cameras and lighting improvements.
Pedestrian and Traffic Control.
The District will provide robust
pedestrian and vehicular traffic
coordination for events at the
Capital One Arena, including traffic
light coordination, streets closures,
and traffic control.
3 4
Permit-In-A-Day. The District will
make available all necessary design
and review professionals to obtain
all approvals at once. This will
improve speed and certainty, and
reduce performance risk for the
permitting, predevelopment, and
construction processes.
Project Ambassador. The District
will provide a dedicated Capital One
Arena Ambassador to ensure seamless
project approvals, reviews, issue
resolutions, and other assistance. The
Ambassador will ensure the District’s
executive, legislative and regulatory
arms are coordinating, collaborating
and facilitating the project. The
Ambassador will be a senior level
official with multiple years in the
District government, with access to
leadership and their own inherent
decision-making authority.
5 6
Multi-Agency Task Force for Gallery
Place-Chinatown. The District will
create a Gallery Place-Chinatown
Task Force modeled after the very
successful U Street Task Force that
focuses on reducing crime, busking,
loitering, enforcing traffic and
parking regulations, and identifying
gaps in staffing and resources. The
Task Force will improve safety for all
the residents, customers, business
owners, and community members in
and traveling to the neighborhood.
F Street Events and Merchandising.
The District will establish a dedicated
coordination team to support events
at the Capital One Arena, including
street closures, for outdoor events
and the sale of merchandise.
7 8
Gallery Place Building. The District PACE Program. The District will
will facilitate and participate in coordinate with the DC Green Bank to
discussions with the receiver for the assist in expediting an application by
Gallery Place building to support MSE MSE to the PACE program to provide
in gaining control of the Gallery Place funding for sustainable improvements.
building. In addition, the District
will expedite the process for any
required permitting or authorization
for changes in use.
The Capital One Arena of tomorrow will be one of the
most important public gathering spaces in the city. As
part of the Gallery Place-Chinatown entertainment
epicenter, it will further a legacy of connection and
community.

THIS IS A MONUMENTAL MOMENT FOR OUR CITY.

Let’s reinvigorate downtown together.