https://wtop.com/virginia/2024/03/only-on-wtop-va-state-senator-whos-blocked-alexandria-arena-plan-doubtful-compromise-can-be-reached/Ralph Fox: “There’s been a lot of back and forth. Let’s start with what happened today. I understand you had a meeting with your folks and some folks from the house and the governor’s people as well.”
Sen. Lucas: “That is correct.”
“And then, of course, he wants to tie everything to the arena. And that’s a non-starter for me, because I still believe, I still contend that even if it’s a contingent backing of the state’s credit faith, it was a bridge too far for me, to put our bond rating at risk for the arena at Potomac Yards.”
Ralph Fox: “Now with the arena, obviously, you were on the committee there. And is there a path without your support to make it happen?
Sen. Lucas: “Without my support, I don’t think so. Because it still has to come through Finance, it still has to come through the Senate Finance Committee. And so I don’t know what the governor’s proposal entails. But the fact still remains that I’m not interested in seeing the arena in Northern Virginia. For one thing, the voters don’t want it. The residents of Alexandria, they don’t want it. And it’s not just people in Alexandria, in Northern Virginia, who are not in favor of this arena. It’s kind of like a statewide thing now. And with all of the information that I’ve had coming into me from other localities and other states, I can’t find anybody who can show me that having taxpayer dollars help construct, finance, any kind of sports arena has ever been a good deal for that locality. And so I’m just not willing to take that risk. We don’t want to put that burden on the hard working voters of Virginia.”
Ralph Fox: “You’ve been fairly expressive on social media with your displeasure for this arena. The “GlennDome,” I believe you’ve been referring to it as. Is there anything that’s missing, anything that people don’t know about that they should?”
Sen. Lucas: “I think most people know as much as they want, or need to know about a sports arena, and that is: to tie tax dollars to an arena that’s going to be to the benefit of billionaires is just a non-starter for most people.”
