DC Mayor Muriel Bowser forgets which Metro lines service arena stop while defending keeping teams downtown

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser forgot which lines on the D.C. Metro service Capital One Arena while trying to argue against the NBA’s Washington Wizards and the NHL’s Washington Capitals moving to a new arena in Virginia.

Bowser, during a news conference on Wednesday, mentioned that the Potomac Yard metro station in Alexandria, Virginia, near where the proposed arena would be built, was only serviced by the blue and yellow lines. She tried to argue the Gallery Place-Chinatown station, near Capitol One Arena, is served by more lines.

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“I’m not an expert on [Alexandria, Virginia’s] crime, but that traffic is notorious. So, people know about it, and I think — which [Metro] lines go to that station? … Blue and yellow,” Bowser said while explaining why Potomac Yard is a less ideal location for an arena.

“So, every line goes to Gallery Place, right? Red, blue, orange, and yellow. Yellow? And green? Is that right? I think that’s right,” she said.

The Gallery Place-Chinatown station is serviced by the red, yellow, and green lines. Orange and blue line customers must transfer to reach the arena.

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The $2 billion Potomac Yard plan announced on Wednesday calls for a new arena, a 6,000-seat performing arts center, a practice facility for the Wizards, restaurants, hotels, and housing.

The Wizards and Capitals leaving Chinatown would be a blow to downtown D.C., which has struggled to make a comeback since the coronavirus pandemic. Bowser and the D.C. Council announced legislation to provide Capital One Arena $500 million in funds for renovations, which the owner of the Wizards and Capitals had reportedly been seeking.