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The attorney general for the District of Columbia contends that the NBA\u2019s Washington Wizards and NHL\u2019s Washington Capitals are obligated to play their games in the downtown arena through 2047, the city\u2019s latest salvo to\u00a0keep them from leaving<\/a>\u00a0and one that the teams\u2019 ownership believes won\u2019t hold up legally.<\/p>\n In a letter Brian Schwalb wrote this week to Monumental Sports and Entertainment that was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, Schwalb cited a 2007 bond agreement for renovations that extended the teams\u2019 lease for 20 more years beyond the initial timeframe through 2027.<\/p>\n The letter comes as Monumental\u2019s\u00a0$2 billion plan<\/a>\u00a0for a new arena across the Potomac River in Alexandria\u00a0has stalled<\/a>\u00a0in the Virginia legislature.<\/p>\n Schwalb said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser\u2019s $500 million offer to renovate Capital One Arena still stands. Bowser in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post last month urged Monumental to consider that and said the city would enforce the lease terms if necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cThe District very much prefers not to pursue any potential claims against MSE,\u201d Schwalb wrote in a letter dated Tuesday to Monumental general counsel Abby Blomstrom in response to one she sent to the city last month. \u201cIt remains committed to maintaining and growing its partnership with MSE and to keeping the Wizards and Capitals at the Arena until the end of the existing lease term in 2047, if not beyond. It is in that spirit that the District urges MSE to re-engage with District officials around a mutually beneficial arrangement that advances the long term interests of both the District and MSE.\u201d<\/p>\n Monica Dixon, a top executive at Monumental, laid out the company\u2019s case Feb. 12 when asked about the lease ramifications.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have started negotiations with the city or Virginia over the last two years without sound, legal counsel, and we feel confident in it,\u201d Dixon said at the time. \u201cIf this is something that results in litigation, we oughta let that process play out \u2014 I hope it won\u2019t \u2014 but we do feel confident about the lease we signed and the amendments.\u201d<\/p>\n A Monumental spokesperson said Friday, \u201cWe fundamentally disagree with the attorney general\u2019s opinions, which are contradicted by the DC general counsel as recently as 2019 when the city ratified the ground lease.\u201d<\/p>\n That agreement five years ago ratified another made in 2007 that allows Monumental to pre-pay bonds and revoke the extension with 120 days notice.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Virginia Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas\u00a0used her perch<\/a>\u00a0as chair of the Finance and Appropriations Committee to keep the arena deal struck by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Ted Leonsis, the head of Monumental, out of the state budget. That development doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the end of the road for the plan, but it complicates the path forward.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are we discussing an arena at Potomac Yard with the same organization that is breaking their agreement and commitments to Washington DC? \u201d\u00a0Lucas wrote<\/a>\u00a0on social media. \u201cDoes anyone believe they wouldn\u2019t do exactly the same thing to us?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n