A Yahoo! sports blog writes about Virginia and D.C. trying to lure the Washington Redskins away from their Maryland digs. The post takes a dim view of the stadium wars, possibly because of the history of new stadium projects’ laughably overblown economic-impact reports and the disgusting, what-have-you-done-for-us-lately attitude of franchises willing to trade in years of fan loyalty for the promise of a new stadium built elsewhere on money taken from a different set of taxpayers. (Does that sound familiar, Carolina Panthers fans — and Charlotte and Mecklenburg County residents facing the Panthers-stadium-upgrade tax hike so “our” team doesn’t move to Los Angeles?)
A few highlights:
- “the idea of an iconic stadium is apparently a relic of a bygone age. Now, stadiums have the life expectancy of hamsters, if hamsters had HD video screens and plush club-level seating.”
- “The siting process the last time around was highly competitive, meaning that it’ll almost certainly require plenty of public funds to lure the stadium to one locale or another. Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray have both taken a direct interest in the possibility of bringing the team in-house.
“‘We’d love that opportunity,’ McDonnell said. ‘If the right group of business and government folks came together to make an offer, it could happen.'” - “According to the Washington Post, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder apparently began stadium discussions with D.C. all the way back in 2007, barely a decade after FedEx Field opened.”
- “Bottom line: if you want an NFL team, save the heartbreak and buy a dog. It’ll be more loyal and it’ll stick around longer, too.”
