The Washington Capitals were pushing hard for relocation, but now, their future has officially been confirmed.
Most NHL fans have been focused on the rumours of either relocation or expansion into Salt Lake City or Atlanta, with the potential move of the Washington Capitals being swept under the rug. After years in D.C., the owner of the
Washington Capitals and the NBA's Wizards has reportedly been pushing for relocation to North Virginia, with Ted Leonsis talking to Governers about the deal.
Now however, any potential move is reportedly over, with the revelation of the contract that the team signed to get significant renovations done to Capital One Arena back in 2007.
#Capitals owner Ted Leonsis signed a deal in 2007, in which D.C. gave him $50M for arena renovations, which committed the team to D.C. until 2047 — fullstop.
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That deal reportedly
locked the team into D.C. for 40 years, giving them 23 remaining years, with D.C. General Attorney Brian Schwalb reportedly looking to enforce the terms of that deal.
It's unclear yet how hard the team are going to push to make this happen, but if the terms of the deal are indeed upheld, the Capitals and Wizards will remain in D.C., where their popularity is nowhere near as high within
the city as it would be in somewhere like Virginia.
Not everyone is opposed to the relocation deal falling apart however, with Capitals forward
Dylan Strome, who is locked into the team for the next four years stating his love for D.C. and where the team plays now.
«I think it's an exciting situation, a new state of the art facility closer to where a lot of us live, but there's also nothing wrong with where we play in DC,» Strome said. «The rink is great and we're in a major city, and there's pros and cons to both. They feel that they can make it this beautiful facility and maybe a little easier access for a lot of fans. It's a long time in the future, but yeah, I was a little surprised at how people weren't so happy about it.»
Ultimately, we may not have heard the end of this story yet, but if the contract is upheld, it will be a long while before either of these D.C. based teams are on the move.
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