The whispers over recent weeks leaked into reports that were quickly denied. Maybe it’s fantasy, perhaps it’s real. The only difference is the timetable.
Are the Washington Redskins returning to the District? Absolutely. The only question is when. Maybe in a few years. Maybe in a decade or two, but they are assuredly returning from that mistake in Raljon.
The Redskins have spent 10 years at FedEx Field. Another 10 years should pass beforeexit strategies rightfully begin. However, Redskins owner Dan Snyder smells money around RFK Stadium and city leaders know a new stadium is the best way to rejuvenate that eastern border just like the new baseball stadium will enhance the riverfront only a few miles downstream.
But wait — the RFK site is federal land leased by the city. That means politics and plenty of it.
The late Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted to build a new stadium aside RFK. However, Cooke hated dealing with District Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly. People in the room told me how Cooke would regularly sucker Kelly into vulgar fights. Kelly called Cooke a “billionaire bully” that undoubtedly made “The Squire” privately smile. Not too coincidentally, Kelly wasn’t re-elected.
Cooke considered Laurel as a bridge between Washington and Baltimore. Unfortunately, the site was one mile north of the Prince George’s County line at a time when Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening was from that domain. Glendening said the site was a traffic nightmare while steering to another site just a couple miles away where roads were even worse but conveniently located in Prince George’s County.
Starting to understand the politics involving stadiums? After a failed attempt in Alexandria, Cooke eventually went to Landover for the $70 million in infrastructure paid by the state in return for a 10-year deal to train in Frostburg that was part of Maryland Speaker of the House Cas Taylor’s district and building a grand sports center for youth near the stadium.
There are two big problems with FedEx Field, though. The whopper is no subway stop. That’s unforgivable. The stadium was also built in a United States record 20 months because Cooke wanted it finished before dying. He didn’t make it, though he spent his last day parked at midfield to review the work six months before the 1997 opener. Dan Snyder has done a good job modernizing the IKEA-inspired facility, but it’s still lipstick on a pig.
So back to Washington the Redskins will eventually go as soon as everyone agrees on a deal; soon being a relative term. Could take a year or two to hammer out the pact and another few years to build it. We’re talking maybe 2012 at the earliest.
The Big Jack will become a shopping mall. That ought to be interesting. Eight floors of Old Navy and Bed, Bath and Beyond — just what we need. Would make a great stadium-seating theater, though.
Let’s just hope the next stadium has a retractable dome that can house national political conventions, Olympics and other world-class events. It’s time to think big.
Meanwhile, start saving for $100 nosebleed seats and $10 beers. The return of the kings won’t come cheaply.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
