Virginia House leaders dispute governor’s claim that their consultant heaped praise on arena deal

By SARAH RANKIN
Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Top legislators in the Virginia House of Delegates are disputing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s claim that an independent consultant gave the thumbs-up to his proposal to lure two sports teams to the state. In speeches given across the state, Youngkin has said that an outside review commissioned by the House gave the proposal a clean bill of health. Lawmakers say that’s not the case. They say they hired an outside consultant but the review didn’t get far because talks around the deal fell apart. Lawmakers will be back in Richmond next month, when they could take the issue back up again. Its future remains uncertain.