Stadium Thoughts
March 15, 2022
by Steve Thomas
Hog Sty writer Paul Francis is in the midst of a three-part series about the pros and cons of possible Virginia, Maryland, and DC sites for a new Washington Stadium. I’ve written at least two prior columns about the possibilities for a new Redskins Commanders Washington stadium over the past few years. You can find part one here and my column from 2021 here. Recent developments have seen proposals from both the state of Virginia and the state of Maryland. Stadium development is something in which I have a bit of professional experience, so, as a supplement to Paul’s effort, I thought I’d once again quickly dive into some of the legal and business aspects of the latest proposals.
First, the state of Virginia is the midst of preparing legislation to provided funding for some portion of a stadium development at three separate locations, one near Dulles airport at a place known as Loudoun Quarries, another down the I-95 corridor near Woodbridge, and another one further down I-95 near Dumfries. The funding is rumored to be in the form of a $1B state bond package.
Simultaneously, the state of Maryland recently made it known that it would like to help fund a new stadium for Washington and proposed new construction adjacent to the current Fed Ex Field site in Maryland, but closer to the existing Metro line as part of a “Blue Line Corridor” development project. The key difference between the Maryland and Virginia proposals is that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan made it clear that the state would hold title to the property, with officials saying anything Maryland funds will be owned by the state. Both state and local governments fund a variety of construction projects all the time that they don’t own, so in my view, Maryland just doesn’t want to let Snyder have title.
Meanwhile, DC mayor Muriel Bowser indicated that she would like Washington to return to the District; however, she did not make any sort of proposal to make that happen. As I’ve repeatedly stated on The Hog Sty and written in columns, those of you are still fans of this franchise can hold out hope for this franchise to move into the RFK site, but the simple fact of the matter is that it’s an extremely unlikely scenario. The federal government owns the site, and two separate administrations – one Republican and one democratic – seemingly haven’t spent 5 seconds contemplating this situation. Not only that, but the District has less ability than either the states of Virginia or Maryland to raise the necessary funds. Therefore, while this might be a nice thought for those who still connect this current expansion-esque franchise with the glory years of the Washington Redskins, it remains the least likely scenario.
The goal with any development will be to pair the stadium itself with a commercial mixed-use development of commercial retail, restaurants, bars, and possibly office and residential condominiums. Also, Washington owner Daniel Snyder has made it clear that he wants to incorporate sports betting into a new stadium complex. The days of a new NFL stadium being located by itself, with nothing around it, are probably over. The question of ownership is obviously a major financial issue for Snyder – the norm is for NFL stadiums to be owned by a quasi-public entity controlled by some combination of state and local governments, not directly by the NFL team owner. Stadium projects being completed entirely with private financing are rare – the two most obvious examples are Stan Kroenke’s SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California and MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As to SoFi, Kroenke is both a major commercial real estate developer and one of the richest owners in the league, married to a woman born with “Walton” as her last name. MetLife Stadium was built as a joint venture between the New York Giants and the New York Jets, meaning, the combined strength of two ownership groups were behind it.
Snyder has neither the experience as a real estate developer nor a partner to help him. Building and managing massive real estate developments isn’t something he’s ever personally done or is staffed to do. Jason Wright isn’t a real estate person either; he’s essentially a business consultant. Snyder therefore needs help, first in the form of dollars, but he also could use a partner. Fortunately for Snyder, he has the benefit of competition, with three local governments all interested in hosting his team. Both Maryland and Virginia want his business, and while Governor Hogan and company thusfar have set a limit to what they’re willing to do, Virginia is apparently willing to one-up Maryland by granting Snyder the benefit of ownership.
Based on comments from The Hog Sty’s Twitter feed and in our comment section in response to Paul’s first column, the fanbase (or more accurately, whatever’s left of it), is pretty upset about the three locations proposed by Virginia. Certainly, the Loudoun Quarries proposal is the one most convenient to the bulk of DC-area residents and has the benefit of an existing Metro line, but allow me to burst your bubble: nobody in charge cares much about convenience. The theory is always, to quote an overrated Kevin Costner movie, “build it and they will come”. Both the state and the team is counting on the fact that, despite griping on social media, they’ll be able to attract a full stadium of fans from somewhere no matter where it’s located. That’s perhaps a little naive considering the team attracted about 20,000 – 30,000 per game for several years, and that’s including fans of the opposing team. Regardless, as long as the stadium is somewhere roughly in the greater-DC area, the financial terms and the ability to develop the site are more important to Snyder than the number of miles from downtown. Winning on the field will overcome a distant location.
Therefore, right now, Virginia is in the clear lead no matter what the fans think. Snyder, who is the most toxic owner in the league, by far, has somehow managed to convince Virginia’s elected officials to do business with him. He should jump on it while he has the opportunity to do so. Get used to a long drive if you’re planning on attending games after 2027.