It appears that there is one thing that will prevent an NFL owner from desperately trying to claw public money out of local governments to build a new stadium: “Pride.” The Washington Redskins, owned by Daniel Snyder, are reportedly angling for a new stadium in the D.C. metro area, even though their lease at FedEx Field isn’t up until 2026.
Washington’s football team is considering sites in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. proper, but Sally Jewell, the U.S. Interior Secretary, says they won’t get a site in the city without changing their name. When team president Bruce Allen was asked on Monday if the ‘Skins would change their name to get a new stadium, he had a one-word answer: “No.”
So, with Washington, D.C. off the list of potential stadium sites, it will be on the administrations of whatever city the team is eyeing to hold the Redskins to some sort of standard, whether it be a moral one, like with the name change issue, or a financial one, like public money for stadium costs. If Snyder is met with resistance, we’ll see how impatient he is to get out of his lease on a stadium that was “only” 28 percent publicly funded. Unless an eager town caves to all his demands, the D.C.-area can probably pressure Snyder into backing off on one of the two issues he’s facing.
(Via Sporting News)
