ALEXANDRIA, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – It’s over. Washington’s NBA and NHL franchises will not be coming to Virginia. The City of Alexandria says talks to lure the Capitals and Wizards to Virginia have ended and won’t proceed. Word came down on Wednesday, with Gov. Youngkin swifty sending out a statement saying that a one-of-a-kind project that would create 30,000 jobs and $12 billion in economic activity just went up in smoke, and Virginians deserve better. Meanwhile, Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $515 million deal at a news conference Wednesday keeping the teams in Washington.

The Governor — along with Alexandria city leaders and several prominent northern Virginia Democrats — announced an entertainment complex along with Wizards and Caps owner Ted Leonsis last fall. Bills in the General Assembly, whose chief patrons were Democrats Luke Torian and Scott Surovell, were killed when Louise Lucas… the Senate Finance committee chair from Portsmouth… quashed all efforts to pass them. There has not been much reason given for an about-face, but there was a ground swell of opposition from some Alexandria residents — and Virginia’s senior U.S. Senator Mark Warner — when the General Assembly started.