$10K Fundraiser Aimed To Introduce Arena Backers To Lawmaker

WASHINGTON, DC — Days before the start of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session, leaders for the company that owns the Washington Capitals hockey team and the Wizards of the NBA declined an invitation to a fundraiser by a developer working to build a casino in Northern Virginia.

Representatives from Monumental Sports & Entertainment decided not to attend a $10,000 ticketed fundraiser at FedEx Field hosted by Comstock Holding Companies' political action committee. This was two months before the Reston developer pitched the idea of a casino-arena deal.

One of the people in attendance at the event was Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who would become the roadblock that kept the deal from advancing in the general assembly. On Wednesday, Monumental shelved the project as the teams' owner, Ted Leonsis, announced a $515 million deal with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to keep the Caps and Wizards in the city until 2050.

Related: Potomac Yard Arena Proposal Not Advancing, Arena To Stay In D.C.

In a statement released on Wednesday, commercial builder JBG Smith addressed the collapse of the arena deal in Virginia, referencing the "special interests" that prevented the deal from going through:

"Despite our best efforts, this project was unable to get a fair hearing on its merits with the Virginia Senate. It is now clear that our efforts may have been complicated and ultimately blocked, in part, by special interests seeking to move the Monumental arena to Tysons Corner and to combine it with a casino. The Washington Post and other outlets have reported on this scheme and the hundreds of thousands of dollars, enormous sums in Virginia politics, of political contributions associated with it – a large portion of which were directed to key senate leaders. When one follows the money, the implications are deeply troubling for Virginia and for the future of transparency in economic development pursuits, especially those that seek certainty through the now damaged MEI legislative process."

In a phone interview on Monday, JBG Smith CEO Matt Kelly told Patch he had received an email invitation in early January from Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente to attend a private reception at FedEx Field to watch the Washington Commanders play the Dallas Cowboys.

In the email, Clemente congratulated Kelly on Monumental's plans for the new Washington Capitals & Wizards arena at National Landing. He explained that the Jan. 7 reception was hosted by the Building A Remarkable Virginia PAC, which he helped establish the previous September.

Clemente explained that the event was a small gathering, with Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth), the speaker-elect of the Virginia House of Delegates, and Lucas, the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The suggested contribution to the PAC was $10,000 per ticket.

"It was to come to their box at the Commanders' game where Louise was going to be there," Kelly said. "We sent it around to our team and said, 'Oh, these are Virginia lawmakers.'"

Patch reached out to Clemente and Lucas for comment about the PAC fundraiser, Clemente's $100,000 donation to Lucas' campaign committee, and whether that contribution influenced the senator's decision about the casino and a possible deal with Monumental. No response has been received.

The Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC reported to the State Board of Elections on Jan. 11 that it made a $39,185 payment to Visa for tickets and a suite at FedEx Field in Maryland.

Kelly was unable to attend the Jan. 7 event because he was going to judge a ski competition the same weekend, so he passed the invitation along to another member of his team. Following an exchange of emails, the decision was made to turn down the invitation based on the recommendation of their lobbyists in Richmond and the PAC's association with the impending casino legislation. Also, it seemed a lot to pay for access to two lawmakers that they preferred to meet individually later on, according to Kelly.

"My concerns are rooted in the fact that when you give someone that much money, you had a lot of influence," he said. "Big picture, that's one of the things that's broken with our campaign finance system, but that's what it is."

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that JBG Smith and Monumental contacted Comstock last week for help in reaching Lucas, so they could broker a deal before the April 17 budget session. Kelly said they reached out to Comstock because, after Dominion Energy, they were the second largest contributor to her campaign.

Since its founding, the Building A Remarkable Virginia PAC has contributed $413,400 to the campaigns of candidates running for state and local office, according financial reports filed with the State Board of Elections. In total, Comstock, its employees and associates have made more than $1.2 million in political donations from January 2022 to February 2024.

Clemente himself donated $100,000 to Louise Lucas for Senate committee on Nov. 4, 2023, according to state campaign finance filings reported by the Virginia Public Access Project.

It was during JBG Smith's attempt to reach Lucas last week that Comstock pitched the idea of combining the casino and arena into one deal, according to Kelly.

"He was careful to say, 'Look, I don't want to interfere with your deal, etcetera, etcetera.' But then he said, 'What about putting the arena in Tysons Corner?'" Kelly said. Taken aback, he told Clemente that was a question for Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Monumental.

As the Washington Post reported, that deal was declined and then on Wednesday, Monumental announced that it had signed a deal to keep the Capitals and Wizards at Capital One Arena. D.C. has committed to financing $500 million to renovating Capital One Arena and will provide $15 million to make improvements to the alley connecting Gallery Place and Capital One Arena.

In response to Wednesday's announcement about the deal in D.C., Lucas posted the following on her X (formerly Twitter) account:

"As Monumental announces today they are staying in Washington DC we are celebrating in Virginia that we avoided the Monumental Disaster! Thank you to everyone who stood with us in this fight!"

Earlier this month, Ben Tribbett, a Democratic Party consultant, whose company Pocket Aces Consulting LLC handles, among other things, Lucas' social media, posted on his @notlarrysabato X account that Monumental had canceled an invitation to an event in January that Lucas attended. Tribbett told Patch that the event he was referring to was the Jan. 7 Commanders game, but that Lucas was at three different events that were taking place at the stadium on that day.

One thing that hasn’t been reported yet is @SenLouiseLucas was up here for an event in January- and Monumental had RSVP’d to attend. Two days before they cancelled and never tried to set anything else up again. It’s clear someone told them to do that- press should ask who.
— Ben Tribbett (@notlarrysabato) March 13, 2024

Additionally, Black Virginia News reported on Jan. 8 that Lucas, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore attended the same game.

Related:

• NoVA Casino Without Referendum Possible With Budget Amendment: Report
• Casino Near Arlington Metro Station Should Be Studied: Chamber Blog
• MGM Resorts Helped Pay Tysons Casino Opponents' Expenses
• Marsden 'Fought Like Crazy' For Tysons Casino Instead Of Reston Site

Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino