Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis began serious negotiations with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin about building a new sports arena and campus in Alexandria on July 21, 2023, according to a Washington Post investigative report by Jonathan O’Connell, Sam Fortier, Teo Armus, Meagan Flynn, Gregory S. Schneider and Laura Vozzella.
In the investigative report, Leonsis and Youngkin, who have known each other since the Governor was a business executive at The Carlyle Group, met in secret at an office in Falls Church. Though Youngkin was initially skeptical about funding for the project, he was ultimately convinced.