https://www.audacy.com/thefandc/sports/washington-commanders/commanders-unable-to-produce-evidence-of-their-popularity
Commanders were unable to produce evidence of their popularity in stadium talks
The Washington Commanders are losing support, from fans and politicians, as they look to chart out the destination of their next stadium.
That's according to one Virginia state senator, Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax), who has withdrawn his support for a bill that would help finance a new stadium in the commonwealth.
One of Petersen's primary concerns is that the team is trending downward in popularity in the region, something that makes him worry about the long-term viability as a whole when considering whether taxpayers should be making a long-term investment by funding a stadium.
In an interview with 106.7 The Fan's Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay, Petersen divulged that the Commanders were unable to produce objective metrics proving their popularity in the area, furthering his skepticism about the team's apparent dwindling fan engagement.
Essentially, if Petersen — a former Washington Redskins season-ticket holder — was seeing fans wearing Commanders gear in public regularly, he could live with the lack of metrics proving the team's popularity footprint. But he's seeing neither the numbers proving their popularity nor that real-world engagement, a double red flag, in his view.