Correcting the fan interest problem

[OVCChairman]

7 hours ago, Koala said:

 

Its like he's actually trying to lose fans.  

 

 

I would imagine that its got more to do with the fact that his options are very limited.  We can all want it to end up in DC and the RFK site makes sense.  Problem is that DC needs to be on board... then the Federal Government needs to realease that land to build on.

 

Another major aspect is payment.  No governing body is going to foot the whole bill.. so finding someone to pay portions while adding a revenue stream (sports betting) to help suppliment the cost is basic business. 

 

The other factor is the lease at the current site.  PG can easily block the ability to get out of the lease, and i would bet the county wants a rebuild on the current site because it means they dont have to finance a demo of the stadium to make the land usable for other ventures.  

 

I dont think this is as simple as "Dan wants to..."

[Koala]

On 1/23/2020 at 6:08 AM, OVCChairman said:

 

 

I would imagine that its got more to do with the fact that his options are very limited.  We can all want it to end up in DC and the RFK site makes sense.  Problem is that DC needs to be on board... then the Federal Government needs to realease that land to build on.

 

Another major aspect is payment.  No governing body is going to foot the whole bill.. so finding someone to pay portions while adding a revenue stream (sports betting) to help suppliment the cost is basic business. 

 

The other factor is the lease at the current site.  PG can easily block the ability to get out of the lease, and i would bet the county wants a rebuild on the current site because it means they dont have to finance a demo of the stadium to make the land usable for other ventures.  

 

I dont think this is as simple as "Dan wants to..."

 

I get all that, but I just wonder if Dan is so obtuse as to not really understand why gambling is so controversial, and probably not something he wants to jump headlong into at a time when he's trying to win back fans.  I highly doubt that turning FEDEX into a mini-casino is gonna win him more fans than its gonna lose him.  A large section of the Redskins fan base is family oriented, and probably have moral, personal, and religious objections to gambling.  I know MD is one of the few states where some form of gambling is legal.  But its also still illegal in the majority of U.S. states, because I think the majority or close to the majority of the population simply do not want major gambling operations in their backyard. 

 

Therefore, I dont think it takes a genius too see how attempting to strong-arm local officials into allowing gambling at FEDEX, is likely something to further deteriorate relations with his shrinking fanbase.  

[skinfan2k]

The lame

On 1/2/2020 at 2:32 PM, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

And somehow Nationals attendance dropped by 2,000 fans a game from 2017 to 2019. So, piss on that theory, I guess.

 

The general problem is this: All teams in all sports are facing issues with attendance, viewership, etc. I'm sure you can cite positive numbers for the Ravens, but the Ravens also are literally running the most exciting offense in NFL history at this moment in time.

 

I'm not sure any teams in any sport are really building the generational bonds that you once saw in DC (and elsewhere). I don't know if young Yankee fans are going to seven or eight home games a year and are planning on doing that with their children and their children's children.

 

The Skins problems are exacerbated by the toxicity at the top of the organization. But it's still a large, rich region so any team that succeeds here will see a payoff at the box office. "Just win, baby" is really all that matters.

 

Now, are you ever going to see four generations tailgating before a game again? Probably not. I'm not even sure those humans exist to fill that role.

 

The Nats lost harper and just hosted the ASG.  the only way to guarantee seats to the ASG was to buy season tickets.  once that was over, all the brokers gave up on their seats. 

[crabbypatty]

He's gotta find some way to get the thing built at Dulles.

It's the best location for a stadium 

The infrastructure is already in place, a stadium there could create an entirely new city/shopping area.

It would be a win/win imo.

Virginia would get big bucks from venue events, it'd be easy to get people there, build nice new hotels.

Hell Snyder could make one and it'd stay busy all year.

Only problem is VA doesn't allow gambling. Maryland and wv right next door sure do though.

 

[Unbias]

The underlying problem with the premise is that we the fans think the product is failing us while the owner has been getting very wealthy off the same product. 

 

All your suggestions involve Dan making less money. I'd ask, if he hasn't made any sacrafices and been rewarded why would be do so now? Is there a business case for him to forgo profits today for more in the future?

[evmiii]

Nothing really matters but winning!

[skinfan2k]

3 hours ago, crabbypatty said:

He's gotta find some way to get the thing built at Dulles.

It's the best location for a stadium 

The infrastructure is already in place, a stadium there could create an entirely new city/shopping area.

It would be a win/win imo.

Virginia would get big bucks from venue events, it'd be easy to get people there, build nice new hotels.

Hell Snyder could make one and it'd stay busy all year.

Only problem is VA doesn't allow gambling. Maryland and wv right next door sure do though.

 

Dulles is the same at Fedex.  national Harbor already has a city.  You basically described what national harbor is already with their hotels. 

[crabbypatty]

24 minutes ago, skinfan2k said:

Dulles is the same at Fedex.  national Harbor already has a city.  You basically described what national harbor is already with their hotels. 

Yeah but you need to cross bridges to get to it.. which would suck, unless you're on that side of the Potomac.

I don't know if the area could support 70k worth of fans and traffic on game day.. not to mention nobody would be able to get there on Monday or Thursday. It'd be worse than it is now. 495 is a parking lot most days over there.

[skinfan2k]

51 minutes ago, crabbypatty said:

Yeah but you need to cross bridges to get to it.. which would suck, unless you're on that side of the Potomac.

I don't know if the area could support 70k worth of fans and traffic on game day.. not to mention nobody would be able to get there on Monday or Thursday. It'd be worse than it is now. 495 is a parking lot most days over there.

 

Traffic is such a lame excuse.  Every major metropolitan city has traffic.  that part of 495 isn't a parking lot.   That area is not even ranked as a major gridlock point in this area lol.  

 

That area can easily support that many fans if the stadium would come.  495 was expanded near fedex and new exits were built. 

 

You bridge excuse is funny.  So Marylanders would need to cross the American Legion. 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

Justin Ross, a former state legislator who is now a lobbyist for the football team, told the House Ways and Means Committee that the Redskins are committed to hiring a minority firm to run the sports book at FedEx Field or any future stadium where the team may play in Maryland.

Ross’s pledge came during a hearing on a bill that would authorize a referendum vote this fall on whether to bring sports gambling to the Free State.

“The Washington Redskins are committed to offering  meaningful minority equity investment opportunities as it relates to sports betting at FedEx Field,” he said.

[Skinsinparadise]

I've talked about the subject of the politics of getting a stadium in other threads.  I am not an expert on it.  But I've done some work on it on the periphery and worked in the legislature when teams pushed the member I worked for among others.  So I have some perspective on it.

 

And this is the first time, I'll say they are operating smartly.  They finally hired a lobbyist.  I explained why in a previous post but its insane that they didn't have one in the first place -- in Florida they had an army of lobbyists let alone one.  The contract angle is smart too especially considering reading about how its due to proceed that way for a change in that state.  Those are some real political muscle moves.  

 

I've said before Bruce didn't seem to be running the stadium quest with much savvy.  Or at least that's how it came off to me based on the reports that were out there.  With Bruce gone, I don't think its a coincidence that they put together a strong game plan for a change.''

 

I get some hate the Fedex location.  I do, too.  But I wonder about the viability of pulling this off anywhere else?  From what I can tell they squandered political opportunities in the DMV and Virginia.  In the DMV by not taking advantage of their interior secretary friend (who ended up leaving) and the party who was controlling Congress at the time -- their ties where stronger with that party and they didn't seem to hedge their bets (like most do) politically.  And in Virginia, they had McAullife fawning all over him -- yet I gather they assumed the next Governor would follow suit which didn't happen.

 

They seemed to approach the stadium just like they did other issues -- with arrogance, delusion and it resulted in the same thing which are squandered opportunities.   But these moves now show some rare scrappiness and smarts politically.