New Stadium News?

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[bird_1972]

8 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

 

NOOOOOOOOO! 

We need the new stadium to be in DC - preferably at the RFK site

[CobraCommander]

1 hour ago, Barry.Randolphe said:

 

 

Couldn't they just do what other multi-field stadiums do and go with the retractable field to swap out? That would be part of the renovation process

 

 

 

I don’t know, it’s not a very big area. Expansion of the current place would be tough. It would be a lot easier to do the RFK site.

 

 

I’ve also proposed this space.

 

 

[Barry.Randolphe]

Either that or they talk to the Nationals since they're hard up for money right now and see if they can do a multi-use situation there since there is more space to work with and it already seats 41k people. We need to think outside the box since the current situation and other options of playing in the suburbs sucks serious ass.

 

I look at Audi Field and they could fill in some of the gaps quite easily with more stadium seating and add another level to the endzone/sides when they put on a retractable roof. It would probably be an expensive project, but oh well. You're dealing with limited space and a difficult/unique land situation

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[CobraCommander]

53 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

He’s a ward 5 council member though. Not his backyard. Interestingly the neighborhood next to RFK known as Hill East just got remapped from Ward 6 (Capitol Hill) to ward 7 (east of the anacostia.)

[Wildbunny]

2 hours ago, CobraCommander said:

Interestingly the neighborhood next to RFK known as Hill East just got remapped from Ward 6 (Capitol Hill) to ward 7 (east of the anacostia.)

And is that good or bad?

[ntotoro]

2 hours ago, CobraCommander said:

He’s a ward 5 council member though. Not his backyard. Interestingly the neighborhood next to RFK known as Hill East just got remapped from Ward 6 (Capitol Hill) to ward 7 (east of the anacostia.)

 

I'm guessing for property values/tax reasons... ?

[CobraCommander]

50 minutes ago, Wildbunny said:

And is that good or bad?

I would say if you polled 100 ward 6 residents the majority would say No to a new stadium at RFK. If you polled 100 ward 7 I would guess the majority might vote yes. At the very least I believe more ward 7 residents would vote yes than ward 6.

 

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter because the Feds have final say on the site.

41 minutes ago, ntotoro said:

 

I'm guessing for property values/tax reasons... ?

Ward 6 population exploded when Navy Yard gentrified. Instead of creating a new ward for Navy Yard they simply annexed Hill East. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by CobraCommander

[Skinsinparadise]

As stadium competition looms, Commanders lobby Congress over future of RFK

 

The Washington Commanders are lobbying federal legislators to give D.C. control over the RFK Stadium site, which would pave the way for the city to offer it as a potential new home for the team.

In recent months, a group representing the Commanders — led by Dentons lobbyist Matthew Cutts and Commanders vice president of public affairs Joe Maloney — has met with staff for the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, according to a spokesperson for the House committee and a spokesperson for Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Senate committee.

 

 

If Commanders owner Daniel Snyder sells the franchise to the group led by hedge-fund billionaire Josh Harris, it could spark a stadium competition among D.C., Maryland and Virginia. To be in the game, the city would need to control the RFK land — which the federal government owns and leases to the District’s sports and entertainment authority, Events DC — or have clarity on what it could offer the team.

 

The natural resources committees, which have jurisdiction over federal land transfers, would be key in the city’s efforts to obtain the land or be granted a lease extension and modification. The RFK lease runs through 2038 and restricts the land usage to sports, entertainment and recreation, which would prevent the Commanders from creating the mixed-use development they have pitched to Virginia and Maryland.

“We are committed to supporting the city’s efforts to obtain control of the RFK campus enabling District leaders to contemplate future use that will deliver social and economic benefits for the surrounding community,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement. “We are communicating with stakeholders at the federal and local level, sharing our vision for a potential venue.”

Cutts declined to comment.

 

Last year, the District repeatedly failed to get congressional leaders to attach a land transfer provision to several pieces of legislation, and due to bitter division among city leaders over how to use the land, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) refused to introduce a stand-alone bill. This year, the District faces additional challenges, including a divided and antagonistic Congress and the March resignation of one of the leaders on the project, deputy mayor for economic development John Falcicchio. Within days of him stepping down, two D.C. government employees accused Falcicchio of “long-standing” sexual harassment.

 

In March at the NFL owners meetings, Commanders President Jason Wright said the team could not select a stadium site until the sale is finalized. But in conversations with potential ownership groups, he added, one of the primary focuses was a new stadium. He said he had briefed prospective buyers and outlined the visions of local leaders.

“[The stadium is] paramount,” Wright said. “Besides figuring out how to invest in a championship and get better performance on the field, [this] is the second-most-important thing — and almost nothing else matters, honestly.”

Even if the Commanders’ lobbying is successful and D.C. gets a land transfer or lease extension and amendment, it’s not a guarantee the team would return to the city.

 

 

...Mark Tuohey, a lawyer and former chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, argued the city could use having the Commanders at RFK to help address uncertainty about its financial future, spurred mostly by a dormant downtown in the wake of the pandemic.

 

“This is a step forward that wasn’t available before [because of Snyder],” he said. “The residents of this community want it. The business community wants it. I think the political community will be on board.”

Last week, D.C. Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (I-At Large) emerged as the council’s potential champion for the Commanders at RFK. In two interviews, the D.C. native and chairman of the committee on business and economic development expressed a desire to bring the team “back home.”

 

“I think we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity with the RFK site to reimagine it,” he told WUSA-TV.

But by and large, members of the council have given Snyder the cold shoulder as the organization has eyed RFK for its new home, largely because of investigations of alleged widespread sexual harassment and financial improprieties. Mendelson said last month that though the looming change in ownership affects the landscape, it won’t immediately change his opposition to building a new home for the Commanders at the RFK site. And he still wants to see a publicly released outcome of the NFL’s investigation of sexual harassment allegations against the Commanders and Snyder.

“It helps in terms of the Commanders that the person or organization against whom those allegations have been made is changing, but there still needs to be public light on this,” Mendelson said. “You don’t get off the hook just because you change ownership. I think that’s a big part of it.”

 

Mendelson said Wednesday that he had not spoken with Bowser about renewing RFK talks since news of the looming sale broke. Of his disagreement with Bowser, Mendelson said “those dynamics have not changed.” Then he added, a bit cryptically: “But my second answer is life is dynamic, and rarely is it realistic to be completely inflexible. And I think I’ll leave it at that.”

Norton also said her position hasn’t changed: She still wants Bowser and Mendelson to reach an agreement before she introduces legislation. She has said in the past that congressional Democrats were turned off by Snyder because of the ongoing investigations.

 

Could having Snyder out of the picture make it easier to move legislation?

 

“I don’t think many in the Congress have thought much about it, with the council and the mayor not even having a bill that I could get through,” she said.

In March, Wright acknowledged that it had been easier for the team to lobby on Capitol Hill this year, following the conclusion of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation of its workplace culture. And on a December call, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered Bowser lobbying help with federal legislators. Once the sale is final, the team, the league, the mayor’s office and others could ratchet up efforts to help D.C. gain control of the RFK site.

If they’re successful, the Harris ownership group could bring to life what Snyder had dreamed of: a three-jurisdiction competition for the next home of the Commanders.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/05/04/commanders-lobbying-rfk-bowser-mendelson/

[Cool Hwhip]

It's all in the name,team should be in Washington.A lot of hoops to go through of course for that happen.

[RFK Lives]

Snyder gone, stadium back where it should be, if the stadium thing were to happen, it could almost get me past the crap name...almost.

[FrFan]

 

[Est.1974]

Well RFK sounds an amazing prospect to me.

 

However, to those that live local, is it a realistic option ? Size, space, infrastructure etc now ?

[Skinsinparadise]

 

Two Virginia legislators are pushing to safeguard taxpayers ahead of a potential three-way battle for a new Washington Commanders stadium under new ownership. 

Del. David Reid told Front Office Sports that he expects Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., to be much more open to the possibility of public financing when Josh Harris’ group finalizes a $6.05 billion deal to purchase the Commanders. 

“It would be naive for us to not be prepared,” Reid said. “The governor has been approaching this as a vanity project. Del. [Luke] Torian and I are proactively approaching this by asking, ‘Is it the right economic development opportunity for the Commonwealth?’ We need to build in certain protections.”

Current Commanders owner Dan Snyder was denied the same path amid investigations of him and the team.

Last June, a bill that would have led to the creation of a stadium authority and as much as $300 million of public funding for a $3 billion domed stadium in Northern Virginia was shelved. 

There’s no current stadium legislation, although many in Richmond expect Gov. Glenn Youngkin to send down a bill to study the creation of a stadium authority in a special session in the coming months. 

Reid and Torian are seeking an incentive-based approach to taxpayer backing, along with an end-of-life plan for the stadium site. 

“Just because we have a different legislative schedule than Maryland or D.C., we don’t want to be left out of the conversation,” Reid said.

Edited May 4, 2023 by Skinsinparadise

[Conn]

Instant flip in interest and leverage with Snyder gone, and the new owner can’t even talk to anyone on behalf of the team yet. Predictable but still stunning to actually witness. 

[bird_1972]

I really hope whatever stadium they move into isn't that red monstrosity 

[CRobi21]

Plans for the Bills' new stadium dropped today. Bunch of photos in the link from the tweet. Looks pretty nice. Better than the Pringle plans at least.

 

Just something to compare with our future stadium

 

[88Comrade2000]

I think wherever the stadium ends up, it needs to be a focal point of the development.  You want things to do around the stadium before and after the game and the rest of the week.

 

Can that be the RFK site?  A casino sportsbook needs to be part of it.

 

The Commanders stadium needs to be a destination complex.

[samy316]

2 hours ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

I think wherever the stadium ends up, it needs to be a focal point of the development.  You want things to do around the stadium before and after the game and the rest of the week.

 

Can that be the RFK site?  A casino sportsbook needs to be part of it.

 

The Commanders stadium needs to be a destination complex.

Just to add to this, we need the stadium to be an attraction, like AT&T Stadium, So-Fi Stadium and Allegiant Stadium.  Having a dome/retractable roof AND an area with nice restaurants, shops and residential properties will have that area revitalized.

[FrFan]

 

[Darth Tater]

I'm assuming for the stadium to be in my least favorite location until they actually make the deal. Until the Harris Group is actually confirmed and a deal for a new location is struck, I'm going to assume it will not be at RFK site, no matter how 'good' it looks.

[skinsfan66]

I think Loudoun county VA. is the top on my list for new stadium. Loudoun has so many ways to access with so much to offer.  Metro, Route 7,66,123 Old Georgetown pike, Beltway, 95, Dulles airport, route 15 from Md. Fred and Mont counties, Whites Ferry from Mont. if still running. lots of Sothern Va. routes.  Route 7 15 for the Charlestown WV. fans. Plus in has a lot to offer. I would take a nice country ride into virginia picking up 15 at Point of Rocks Md or Brunswick.  Think you will have no problem filling the Stadium with our fans.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[Bifflog]