Forget Christmas, forget Trump.
This December, the big deal in my old home town is the announcement that two of Washington, D.C.’s, sports teams are moving from the Chinatown area in D.C. to Northern Virginia.
It’s funny at age 74 to see massive projects that may or may not be completed in my lifetime. I was surprised to read that when the basketball Wizards move out of the city, they will be the only NBA team not located inside their city limits. Ironically, when the Wizards moved to Washington from Baltimore as the Bullets in the mid ’70s, they played in the suburbs for more than 20 years.
The Capital Centre was good for its time, and it was the home for the Bullets, the NHL Capitals and many many major concerts. I saw the Before the Flood Bob Dylan and the Band tour in 1974, the Eagles in 1979 and the Rolling Stones in 1981, among others. The only problem was that it was off the beaten track in Landover, Md.
Stadiums and arenas just don’t last anymore. Fenway Park and Wrigley Field have been around more than 100 years and Dodger Stadium opened in 1962. But there are all sorts of facilities than last no more than 20-25 years, many of them because they don’t have enough luxury suites for the truly wealthy.
Turner Field in Atlanta opened in 1997, and 20 years later the Braves left a perfectly good facility for Truist Park on the north side of town. What the Braves got was more than a new stadium. They got a neighborhood of restaurants and bars and the like, so that fans would get a lot more than just a ballgame.
That’s a lot like what the Wizards and Capitals are planning for Potomac Yards.
It has been more than 40 years since I lived in Northern Virginia, although I have visited family and friends in the area frequently.
The only thing I notice when I visit is how constant change is. Here’s hoping Potomac Yards is a good part of that change.