Blades of Steel
log off.
The beauty of having a large points lead, anything more than a minor injury can be rested/nursed if needed.
Let's hope it was or close to minor..
D.C. officials plan to unveil an array of possibilities for the future of the RFK Stadium property Monday night, among them a new 65,000-seat Redskins stadium and a basketball and hockey venue capable of replacing Verizon Center.
All the proposals include a raft of suggested recreation facilities for a city with a booming population, among them playing fields, a field house, a water park and a sports-and-entertainment complex that officials likened to Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.
Two of the six proposals, outlined by Events DC, the District’s sports-and-entertainment arm, lay out a path for the Redskins to return to the District, though serious obstacles remain should Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the D.C. Council move to reach a deal with owner Daniel M. Snyder.
Officials also said for the first time that they are considering the 190-acre riverfront property as a possible location for a 20,000-seat arena equipped to serve the Washington Wizards and Capitals.
Ted Leonsis, majority owner of those teams, has in recent years raised the prospect of relocating when their Verizon Center lease expires in 2027 — the same year Snyder’s lease expires at FedEx Field, where the Redskins began play in 1997.
That's weird, Ted owns (most of) both the team and the stadium. What does the lease term have to do with anything? They should be able to extend or terminate whenever it's convenient.
Also, has anyone been to a new stadium recently? What does it have that VC doesn't? I'm curious because VC seems very well maintained, and it's not immediately obvious to me why it would only have 11 years of life left.
Capacity may be secondary. What are they going to add 1500-2000 more seats? That would put them top 5-top 3 in capacity.
Sucks because the area around VC has grown up nicely. Local business owners will struggle, I guess relocate to the new area? Tear it down I guess. I wonder if Leonsis owns the land or just the building. The land would be a nice revenue chunk in a sale.
Two tenants would make it a little easier to upkeep. Maybe Le0nsis just sells the arena to a 3rd party and let's them deal with DC Gov.
Interesting about the $10/ticket bit, I didn't know that. VC was one of the last city-friendly stadium deals, and that ticket revenue adds to the pot for DC. Considering what the city put up for the Nats and United, I cringe a little at what potentially two new stadiums are going to cost the DC taxpayers.
On the area development side, the RFK site is a no-go. There is almost no commercial land over there, it's all single family residential.
I'd bet the biggest issue is capacity. Caps are a huge draw, Wiz hoping to become one, adding the AFL team, and of course other events like concerts, etc. They probably want more seats.
Plus the city has a big stake here. Verizon center turned Penn Quarter into a hugely hot part of town. In theory, the redev at RFK could do the same and the Skins, as big a draw as they are, only play once a week and what... max 10 times a year? Having Caps/Wiz/AFL there makes it much more vibrant year-round.
EDIT: or maybe AFL/Mystics stay at Verizon and the city has 2 nice venues...?
Wouldn't be so sure about that. A lot of investors have been buying up that land in anticipation of precisely this happening.
Wouldn't be so sure about that. A lot of investors have been buying up that land in anticipation of precisely this happening.
I'm not saying it 100% can't happen, but there isn't much precedent for bulldozing healthy existing neighborhoods around here. That's why we're one of the few East Coast cities that 95 doesn't run through.
The political capital it would take to get those houses rezoned would be staggering.
I'd comfortably take Carlson and Niskanen over Alzner.
There is simply no way those row house blocks would get rezoned. Zero.
There is simply no way those row house blocks would get rezoned. Zero.
So, let me get this straight. You think they drafted these massive proposals without considering how it would effect housing?
I bet the city falls all over itself to make this happen, and they are in a position to leverage something in the process. That part of town is ripe for gentrification (for good or ill) and a couple of blocks of row houses will be a small price to pay. The stadium developers will have to build some affordable type housing somewhere else is all. Same thing that happened around Nats Park.
I think the idea of all Washington sports in one area would be awesome, I'm more curious if Dan Snyder would be down with that. Ted would basically own the majority of stake in the joint area while Snyder would have the massive draw.
I also didn't know Verizon was such a money sink for Ted, 10 dollars per ticket is actually pretty ridiculous when you think of how often that place is full.
I bet the city falls all over itself to make this happen, and they are in a position to leverage something in the process. That part of town is ripe for gentrification (for good or ill) and a couple of blocks of row houses will be a small price to pay. The stadium developers will have to build some affordable type housing somewhere else is all. Same thing that happened around Nats Park.