If you’ve been missing D.C. councilperson Jack Evans, sponsor of stadium bills for the Washington Nationals (approved) and D.C. United (not yet), heeeeeee’s baaaaaaack:
D.C. Council member Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, says Fedex Field, the Washington Redskins’ home for the past 13 years, is steadily aging and will soon be ready for a replacement. He points to RFK Stadium, the team’s former home until they left in 1997, as a prime location for a new, state-of-the-art facility — and not just to host the gridiron.
WTOP reports, entirely with a straight face, that Evans wants to spend $2-3 billion to replace RFK with a 110,000-seat retractable-roofed stadium that could host the NFL, the World Cup, and the Olympics. But then, the news radio station also wrote with a straight face that bit about a 13-year-old stadium being “steadily aging” — which may be technically true, but it’s not generally what people mean by “aging.”
Of course, most of this is likely about sucking up to Redskins fans in the District by making a public play to get the team back within city limits. DCist sums it up nicely:
Look, FedEx isn’t the greatest stadium in the world, but for what it was designed for — to cram as many Redskins fans as possible into one space for games — it still works fairly well. There are several stadiums in the NFL that are older and less appealing than FedEx (see: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum). And as far as Evans’ assertions about the World Cup and the Olympics go: the chances of us being a host for the former wouldn’t really improve with a new stadium; the latter is, with all due respect to the Councilmember, a pretty massive pipe dream.
The Redskins still assert that they’ll stick at FedEx until at least 2027 when their lease expires, and it’s difficult not to believe them — at least until politicians stop using the idea of a new stadium in D.C. as a political miracle waiting to happen (where is that $2-3 billion dollars coming from, Councilmember?), rather than pushing forward an actual plan that might be feasible.
…that’s just insane. Well, more insane than usual.
While I don’t think the Redskins need a new stadium, DC United does. DC hasn’t made any progress on the various proposed sites for a new DC United stadium (from the last I heard, the suburbs were making overtures, as well as Baltimore). RFK is a dump at this point (sorry to those with sentimental attachments), and it’s far too big for soccer. MLS has made it clear that they prefer soccer-specific stadiums, but they are also perfectly content with Qwest Field in Seattle, which I find visually pleasing and functionally effective for both the NFL and MLS. If anything, this should be the model for a new Redskins stadium at the RFK site…not a $2 billion behemoth, but a smaller dual purpose stadium.
The NFL teams who moved into new stadiums in the 90s are starting to line up for new demands. I wonder how much of that is related to the stadium arms race between Dallas and NY…
I’m torn because I love soccer and hate the stadium schemes. But DC United needs a stadium to survive, they have a really unfavorable lease and the stadium operators have really let RFK fall apart over the years.
Evans is right on the mark. Bring the Skins back to DC and turn dumpy RFK into something we can be proud of. Go councilman evans!
Evans is right on the mark. Bring the Skins back to DC and turn dumpy RFK into something we can be proud of. Go councilman evans!
Evans is the worst kind of politician there is. Clueless, a corporate tool, lobbyist, short-sighted and an ass-clown.
He probably dabs in the same same stuff Marion Barry does.
Hi Peierre,
Please explain how FedEx field is something DC area residents find shameful, if an alternative is needed in order to feel “proud.”
Please explain why stadium size or girth is a necessary measure of local “pride.” (An aside: I heard the Cowboys may have bigger TruckNutz, but don’t let that affect your thinking.)
Please explain how cramming more than 100,000 warm bodies into one space to cheer for a team unironically named the REDSKINS is not something to be ashamed of.
Please explain how Evans’ desire to spend TWO BILLION on a vanity project like this while UDC crumbles and urban poverty remains entrenched in much of the District is something not to be ashamed of.
I could go on but I think you get my point.