What Will You Do Now Dan? - Part 2

It could happen, and easier than you think

In this two-part series Curly R examines the opportunities and challenges associated with moving the Redskins back into the District of Columbia, home of the Redskins from 1937 to 1996.

Part One: Confluence of Factors
Part Two: Obstacles to Navigate
Epilogue: New RFK

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It can't just happen, owner Dan Snyder can't just decide to do it and do it, challenges would remain. Owner Dan has said in at least one recent interview that the team intends to honor its long term commitments to PG County though we all know those contractual agreements are only in force as long as both parties want them to be. Since Dan owns the land these agreements are presumably around occupancy, the team cannot simply decide to build a new stadium and leave FedEx Field vacant like a Wal-Mart that moved across the street.

There would be a public relations situation to deal with as any decision to build a new stadium after only ten or fifteen years would be met with reaction ranging from what! You don't abandon a stadium a third of the way through its life! To what! He's abandoning Prince George's County just when they need the economic jolt from the stadium to it figures, Dan Snyder is just looking for that next nouveau riche fix, like a new Maybach every two years.

This is the smallest obstacle to navigate as Dan has shown the full spectrum of PR chops, from do nothing and ignore the critics to full on media blitz to promote an idea. At heart Redskins fans would support this move and so this battle would be fought with politicians, neighborhood activists and Marc Fisher.

There is the RFK site to deal with. I am uncertain of the exact arrangement but the District owns RFK and I believe the land underneath the site is on long term lease from the National Park Service. The federal government used to own RFK but I presume it transferred to the District when DC was given home rule in 1973.

Presumably there would have to be a land swap or an outright buy of the land as owner Dan would not want to create a new stadium where he did not own everything outright, none of this municipal stadium deal like the Nationals, Dan would want that asset on his books to increase the value of his franchise.

I would not be surprised if the District sold the stadium to owner Dan and the federal government made the determination that the economic benefits of a new stadium outweighed the benefits of continued federal ownership of the land given a stadium is already on the site. In this case the federal government sells the land to owner Dan with a contingency about the parcel's use. Right next door is the campus of DC General Hospital, which has been a political football for some time now and is eventually slated for redevelopment to a mixed use riverfront development along the lines of Baltimore's Inner Harbor or San Antonio's Riverwalk. Synergistically it makes perfect sense to catalyze that development with a new Redskins stadium, one paying tribute to the old Redskins stadium.

As far as the soccer stadium goes, DC United is a thriving MLS franchise and they deserve a stadium of their own. The latest deal for a new 27000 seat soccer stadium over in Southeast near the Nationals' new stadium fell through in July but all parties agree it is a matter of when and not if this deal gets back on track. Owner Dan could intervene and grease the skids in many ways from a direct cash infusion to securing development rights on his own to leveraging his commercial empire to infuse that area of Southeast with some of his development capital. He may be the football owner but you know he smells money in the area of the Nationals new stadium and he will want a part of it.

With DC united out of the way Dan can proceed with the transactions to bring the Redskins back to the District, RFK can be dismantled and sold piece by piece to offset costs to benefit causes or both, a new design plan can be generated and a new stadium built. New RFK would look basically just like old RFK in every way that counts, with the cantilevered roof to keep in the noise, the south bleachers and the big Bud clock in the endzone while increasing in size to 110 thousand seats and all the luxury suites Dan could wish for only please don't make the club seats yellow this time.

As far as money and how much the District would be willing to invest in the stadium my guess is not much as DC residents gradually realize they gave up 611 million for the Nationals' new stadium and don't get much in return except some prestige value of a stadium in the city (?). DC Mayor Adrian Fenty would want to make this a cornerstone of his economic development legacy in the District and would receive wide support in the city as long as the city did not have to contribute more than token money. The Redskins enjoy wide support in the city of DC as opposed to the Nationals who are still new and already viewed in the new stadium as economically out of reach by large segments of the population.

All of this could happen within five years of right now.



RFK Stadium, with a Redskins game going on from here.