New Stadium News?

[Mrshadow008]

23 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

There is absolutely no way the franchise leaves the area.  This is a top 10 market in everything.  The NFL will not give up this market no matter what.  It's too wealthy.  

 

The NFL will not approve a move out of the area.  They would force Dan out before they did that.  

 

The rest of your post is pretty wrong also.  DC paid for Nats park.  It's worked out extraordinarily well. Baseball requires the state to pay for the entire stadium.  That was a contingency of the team moving here to begin with.  

 

If the state buys the stadium, they own it. They lease it back to the team for money.  They also have an asset.  The least payments and increase in tax revenue should, in theory, offset the cost of the stadium.

 

However, this is MUCH more true for multi-use arenas (basketball/NHL), and baseball, just due to the number of already-booked days on the calendar.  Football stadiums are different due to the limited number of days.  So, for football, if you are using the stadium as a catalyst for economic growth, you have to be much more creative, because they 10 days of NFL games a year just won't do anything.  

The crazy thing is its a top ten market when considering the immediate dc market alone. That doesnt even take into account the entire scope of what the teams market actually is/should be which in all reality is a top 3-5 market. 

 

[profusion]

21 hours ago, Mrshadow008 said:

The crazy thing is its a top ten market when considering the immediate dc market alone. That doesnt even take into account the entire scope of what the teams market actually is/should be which in all reality is a top 3-5 market. 

 

 

It's not just market size. The DC area includes 3 or 4 of the wealthiest counties in the country. Forget attendance. Having an engaged fanbase in the DMV impacts the TV contract due to the area's desirability to advertisers.

 

With all that said, there are a lot of transplants here, and ratings might still be high without a local team. And the owners love having an empty market out there as leverage for stadium negotiations. St. Louis and San Diego don't have the same punch that way.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

Virginia lawmakers to delay vote on NFL stadium for Commanders

 

RICHMOND — The General Assembly will delay voting on legislation meant to lure the Washington Commanders football team to Virginia, a key senator said Tuesday, signaling trouble for a plan that began the year with broad bipartisan buy-in.

 

With legislators returning to the Capitol on Wednesday to vote on the state budget and other measures kicked into a special session early this year, Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said a pair of stadium bills will not come to the floor as planned.

The delay will not be the last word on the stadium effort generally or even the current legislation, which Saslaw said will stay alive because the General Assembly will not take the usual vote to conclude the special session Wednesday. That move will extend the session for an unspecified period.

 

But the delay suggests that the proposed taxpayer-subsidized stadium has become a tougher sell in Richmond than in January, when a pair of bills emerged with powerful bipartisan support, and newly inaugurated Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) endorsed the idea in his first speech to the legislature.

While negotiators have worked since then to slash the size of the state’s contribution — from an initial estimate of $1 billion to less than $300 million — controversies have grown around team owner Daniel Snyder. Snyder has been accused of sexual misconduct and financial improprieties — allegations he denies.

 

“I think we’ve still got some work to do, and the votes are probably close,” said Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (D-Prince William), who has raised questions about transportation issues around a potential location for the project in Woodbridge, where the team recently obtained an option to buy land. “If it was ready, it’d be on a vote for tomorrow, but it’s not ready.”

 

Team president Jason Wright greeted the delay as an opportunity to promote the project.

“We are grateful for the bipartisan support the stadium authority legislation has already received, and any additional time will certainly provide us with more opportunities to share how this project can create new jobs, generate significant tax revenue, and spur economic development for surrounding communities and the Commonwealth as a whole,” Wright said in a statement.

The Commanders, who are contractually obligated to play at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., until 2027, have been shopping for a new home for years in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.

Snyder wants to build not just a new stadium but a massive commercial and residential complex that supporters call a “mini-city,” including a convention center, concert venue, hotels, restaurants and housing. Supporters have said the stadium and surrounding development would provide a tremendous economic boost to the community where it is built.

 

Saslaw and a powerful Republican, House Appropriations Chairman Barry D. Knight (R-Virginia Beach), introduced bills to create a stadium authority to oversee construction and financing of the project. As originally proposed, the bills would have allowed the team to collect a share of state tax revenue generated by the stadium and the more expansive commercial development to finance construction of the stadium.

The Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democratic-led Senate passed separate bills in February by hefty, bipartisan margins.

But there were concerns about the amount of tax revenue the state would forfeit, initially estimated at $1 billion. In March, negotiators trying to smooth out differences in the bills said they would cap the state’s contribution at $350 million. They failed to strike a deal before the legislature wrapped up its regular session that month, so the legislation rolled into a special session called primarily to complete work on the state budget.

 

 

Sen. Stephen D. Newman (R-Bedford), one of the negotiators, said last week that they planned to lower the cap again, to under $300 million. He also said that he expected the compromise bill to let the team have a share of revenue generated only from the stadium, not from the broader commercial development — an approach that Saslaw has embraced as a way of limiting the impact on ordinary taxpayers.

“If you don’t ever attend a game or you’re not an employee of the football team, not one penny of your taxes will ever go toward paying off that stadium. Not a penny,” Saslaw said. “Unless they’re a player or a coach or go to the stadium and buy something, there is not a penny of their money in there.”

Saslaw was referring to state tax revenue. The locality where the stadium is built would have the option to give the team a break on local taxes, which would not apply toward the $300 million cap.

 

Although they continue to explore locations in Maryland and D.C., the Commanders also acquired the right to purchase 200 acres in Prince William County for the project. Leaked a little more than a week before the General Assembly was expected to vote on the stadium bill Wednesday, the disclosure of the acquisition could have been intended to pull the measure over the finish line.

Some members of the General Assembly remained upbeat about the plan’s prospects last week, even as Newman and Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) — for many years the team’s most vocal cheerleader in Richmond — voiced doubts about it.

The Commanders and Snyder have been embroiled in scandal for much of the past two years amid allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety, which have prompted investigations by the NFL and Congress, as well as possibly the Federal Trade Commission. Last month, Attorneys General Karl A. Racine (D) of D.C. and Jason S. Miyares (R) of Virginia launched their own probes of the team.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/31/commanders-stadium-virginia-delay-vote/

[veteranskinsfan]

Glad VA has delayed the vote.  I do not want any jurisdiction to give The Danny a new stadium.  Let the next owner have the new stadium!!

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Franklin60]

55,000 seats is simply ridiculous and seems almost an admission that you don’t expect to ever be good. Because if you ever truly become successful, you’ll be rueing the day you chose to build a stadium that small. And you’ll then start redesign plans to increase the capacity. Just build it right the first time. Something north of 62,000 and less than 70,000. About 65,000 is probably the sweet spot. 

 

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

Smaller than RFK? WTF? Jacksonville must be laughing at us right now.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

[FootballZombie]

55K? Oof, that is telling.

 

I guess if you design the stadium the right way, you could leave room for future expansion if needed, (Snyder is no stranger to adjusting seating numbers in a stadium after all) but its still a bad look to not need those seats right now.

 

A small stadium also means smaller amounts of foot traffic on gameday, so those around-the-stadium profitable infrastructure proposals that are relying on large amounts of thru-put are less viable as well. Less people for the casino, or resort, or whatever they are planning to slap together. It hurts the whole proposal across the board.

[NewCliche21]

55 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

Um what?

 

1) Supply still is going to eclipse demand by a billion.  Or 55K whatever.
2) Um duh? Because no one is going to pay more.
3) What? No, the amount of space doesn't change from 55K to 55K + "premium seating" 

Chris not making a lot of sense here.  Or I'm dumb.  Okay I am dumb but he still isn't making sense.

 

[88Comrade2000]

I doubt there's even 55K fans left.

[Warhead36]

55k isn't enough to host a Super Bowl.

[Redskins 2021]

Right now, if they put a Psl on those seats they will not fill the stadium. Even at 55000 seats.

[hail2skins]

31 minutes ago, NewCliche21 said:

 

Um what?

 

1) Supply still is going to eclipse demand by a billion.  Or 55K whatever.
2) Um duh? Because no one is going to pay more.
3) What? No, the amount of space doesn't change from 55K to 55K + "premium seating" 

Chris not making a lot of sense here.  Or I'm dumb.  Okay I am dumb but he still isn't making sense.

 

Yeah, some of what he said was confusing.

 

If I think of a stadium with the basic seating layout like FedEx of lower level, middle (club) level, and upper level, I can picture a stadium with 30K seats in the lower bowl, maybe 10K seats in the club level, and then limit the upper deck to 15K seats, or roughly half of what FedEx had in the upper deck when it opened. Yes, those seats are cheaper, but do people really like to sit THAT high up? I remember that was a big complaint from people who had UL seats at RFK and found their seats at FedEx appeared much higher, as the club and suite levels had pushed the upper deck that further up.

 

Add a few thousand in the suites at the new place and you'd get to around 60K.

 

Its still weird that FedEx's capacity was once listed as nearly 92K, and now articles I read last year had it at 67K.  Did they really remove 25K worth of capacity from the place over the years, in the upper deck and club level?  Seems hard to believe....

 

Finally, when Franklin60 gets tickets to the new stadium and watches the Commanders put a 59-28 thrashing on his Birds in the "Monday Night Massacre" revenge game, he's gonna be saying "wow, I wish the Linc was this intimate of a venue" 😄

[skinzplay]

Wright is delusional, as always.I will be happy when he's gone.

 

There was heavy, targeted lobbying that generated the bipartisan support for that initial measure. There is now much heavier ($$) lobbying to block it.

[CTskin]

Boy I’d love for Dan to be forced to sell the team mid-construction.

 

If anyone is paying attention they won’t go near this bill until snyder is either gone or receives another slap on the wrist penalty and the future is more clear.

 

idc how many times I say it, this team needs to be back in dc. When I lived down there it was awesome going to caps and nats games because of the convenience and the nearby bar scene before/after. It would get some casual fans back in the stadium, the fans who won’t make the trip to fedex… or dumfries for that matter.

 

snyder and the city need to smarten the **** up, it’s mutually beneficial.

[Skinsinparadise]

19 minutes ago, NewCliche21 said:

 

Um what?

 

1) Supply still is going to eclipse demand by a billion.  Or 55K whatever.
2) Um duh? Because no one is going to pay more.
3) What? No, the amount of space doesn't change from 55K to 55K + "premium seating" 

Chris not making a lot of sense here.  Or I'm dumb.  Okay I am dumb but he still isn't making sense.

 

 

They were talking about this some on 106.7.  The theory is less seats make them a harder seat to get especially for out of towners.    Better look on TV because these days they are filling about 45,000-55,000 so the stadium would appear more full. Construction costs I guess make sense -- less cement-infrastructure needed.

 

Personally, outside of removing Dan, the 2 most obvious hurdles for selling tickets is a tradition of winning and having some star power-excitement.  When we had RG3, that was the last hoorah of this fan base arguably.

 

[Conn]

3 hours ago, Franklin60 said:

55,000 seats is simply ridiculous and seems almost an admission that you don’t expect to ever be good. Because if you ever truly become successful, you’ll be rueing the day you chose to build a stadium that small. And you’ll then start redesign plans to increase the capacity. Just build it right the first time. Something north of 62,000 and less than 70,000. About 65,000 is probably the sweet spot. 

 

I don’t agree with this. The at-home TV experience gets more appealing every year and the NFL makes more from ad revenue than from ticket sales, by a huge margin. It’s only going to get more lopsided, the league is going to move away from prioritizing the in-person experience more and more if the sport survives long term. Build for the inevitable future, don’t be wistful for the past. If they ever get good again, imagine how much easier it would be to maintain a home field advantage if you “only” have to fill 55,000 seats consistently. Design it the right way and it will sound just like any other stadium when the defense is on the field and the stands are rocking. You know, in a fictional future where Snyder doesn’t own the team and they can actually fill an imaginary stadium with the correct fans again. 7-10,000 extra seats doesn’t make much of a difference in the end imo. Make it a small, intimate setting that has the potential to one day be intimidating.

1 hour ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

I doubt there's even 55K fans left.

You shout a lot of outrageous stuff into the void here but you can’t actually believe this, right? That’s an extremely small and easy number to meet lol, and I’m one of the most pessimistic people here in regards to the fanbase. 

[CommanderInTheRye]

By the time Snyder's done it will have evolved from the original 80,000 seat collapsable burgundy and gold domed multifunctional state of the art monstrosity he envisioned 10 years ago, into 10,000 second hand high school bleachers, setup in a dirt field adjacent to a garbage dump, with a single Sabrett's hot dog stand for refreshments, pay as you go hole in the ground latrines, a moonshine stand hidden behind some sage brush, and a pre-owned two story double wide trailer housing Commanders Park on the first floor and a cat house of old second hand hookers "for the convenience of  both the fans and players" on the second floor.

Edited June 1, 2022 by CommanderInTheRye

[TheGoodBits]

I actually really like the idea of a smaller stadium. It creates an intimate environment that’s downright intimidating and difficult to play in. Especially with a dome. I envision it being really tough to hear the snap count on 3rd downs with all the Cowboys fans screaming at the top of their lungs. 

[justice98]

12 hours ago, CTskin said:

Boy I’d love for Dan to be forced to sell the team mid-construction.

 

 

I'm curious how that would play out.  It would surely complicate matters, if some new owner would be stuck with a bad stadium deal.  

 

This whole thing seems like Snyder just wants a stadium, any stadium, anywhere. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by justice98

[CommanderInTheRye]

Washington Commanders’ stadium plan calls for 55,000 seats, smallest in the NFL

 

 

 

From 2004 to 2010, Washington had the largest seating capacity in the NFL, with more than 91,000 seats at FedEx Field. But as the team has struggled on the field and alienated fans with off-field controversy, FedEx Field renovations have consistently reduced the number of seats, as the team couldn’t fill the stadium. And now the team is planning a new stadium that would be smaller still.

 

The Commanders are currently proposing a new stadium in Virginia that would have just 55,000 seats, making it the smallest in the NFL, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 

Although nothing is finalized with the team’s new stadium, Commanders President Jason Wright acknowledged that the Commanders are likely to end up playing in the smallest stadium in the league.

 

“We are much more likely to build the smallest venue in the NFL than the largest,” he told the Virginia Mercury.

 

A 55,000-seat stadium would be too small to host a Super Bowl and some of the other major events that NFL stadiums attract, but Washington sounds set on going in the opposite direction after once leading the league in attendance.

 

 

 

The Commanders are now rumored to be open to a stadium with a capacity well under 50,000; if a deal can be reached with a local jurisdiction willing to allow construction to begin soon. 

 

Rumors persist that current team owner Dan Snyder may soon be forced to sell the team. Some within the league office are now openly speculating, off the record, that he wants the new owner to be hamstrung by a small stadium, in a less than ideal location, that would severely limit team revenue and growth.

 

At this point the mental stability of the team's owner has to be a concern for Roger Goodell.

 

 

🤩😉😎😁

Edited June 1, 2022 by CommanderInTheRye

[Koolblue13]

I definitely like the smaller stadium idea, but that article above makes a ton of sense.