As the D.C. region wraps its head around the possibility the Washington Capitals and Wizards might move to Alexandria, there's a new emphasis on how that might impact transportation in the area — and whether the new Potomac Yard Metro station can handle arena crowds.
Virginia leaders and Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis announced a $2 billion plan Wednesday to partner on a deal that would send the teams across the Potomac River.
Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said Thursday the Potomac Yard station, which opened in May, would likely need major modifications to handle big crowds.
With only one escalator and staircase on each platform, the station wasn’t designed with a stadium in mind.
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"Clearly, we’d need some type of modification, I think, to handle an event of that nature. It’s kind of, like, one escalator, one stair approach on each platform," Clarke said
The discussion comes at a time when Metro is trying to close a $750 million budget gap. One of the worst-case scenarios Metro is considering is shutting down some of its stations with the lowest ridership.
Currently, Potomac Yard is one of those stations.
"Our proposal was 10 lowest and based on today’s ridership I believe Potomac is in that top 10," Clarke said.
Metro is also floating the idea to increase fares to help close the budget gap. A final decision won’t be made until the spring.
