Virginia House leaders dispute governor’s claim that their consultant heaped praise on arena deal

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Top legislators in the Virginia House of Delegates are disputing Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s claim that an independent consultant they hired gave a clean bill of health to his proposal to lure two Washington sports teams to the city of Alexandria.
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Youngkin, a Republican, has hosted a series of campaign-style events in recent weeks to rally public support for the deal and turn up the heat on legislators, especially Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a leading opponent. The Democratic-controlled General Assembly wrapped up its session earlier this month without approving the proposal, which is aimed at landing the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards.
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The measure envisions a $2 billion mixed-use development featuring a new arena that would be built just a few miles across the Potomac River from where the teams currently play. It would bring Virginia its first major pro sports franchises.
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The Senate’s senior-most member, Lucas prevented her chamber from considering the proposal, even though the House of Delegates gave an initial sign-off.
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“The House did all the work,” Youngkin told a crowd at a recent event at a Richmond-area restaurant. “They hired outside advisers. They brought in experts that had seen these kinds of projects before. They got not only a clean bill of health but they actually were told, ‘This may be the best thing we’ve ever seen.’”
Legislators in the House did hire outside counsel to assist them in their review of the proposal, according to interviews with legislators and documents obtained through a public records request. But both House Speaker Don Scott and House budget committee chairman Luke Torian said Youngkin’s remarks — similar to those given in other speeches — were inaccurate and far overstated the scope of the firm’s work.
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The firm had seen potential for a “great” opportunity in the structure of the deal, if the underlying assumptions were borne out by a financial review, something that never fully got underway because talks collapsed, according to Scott, who said the governor was “embellishing.