Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said last week that plans for a new practice facility and arena in Ward 8 are moving forward.
Leonsis said he visited the site on May 30 and that excavation has begun. Construction for a $55 million, 118,000-square foot, 5,000-seat facility on the site of St. Elizabeths, the dilapidated former mental ward, is planned to begin this year and end in 2018.
Funding over the course of the 19-year lease includes an investment by the city of nearly $23 million, plus $27 million from Events DC, an event-managing arm of the city which will also be responsible for the construction of the new facility, and $5 million from Leonsis’ Monumental Sports toward construction.