Governor Glenn Youngkin wants a stadium feasibility study conducted.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin just cannot give up his dream of getting the National Football League’s Washington Commanders a stadium within the commonwealth. Evan though Snyder remains toxic. In Youngkin’s proposed 2023 Virginia budget is one line. “Develop plan for relocation of Washington Commanders.” It would be an economic study that needs to be approved by Virginia politicians. The Commanders franchise conducts most of its business in Virginia but the franchise plays its home games in Landover, Maryland not too far from the Virginia border. In 2022, Virginia politicians thought of making a play for Dan Snyder’s business but decided that perhaps it was not time to do so. Snyder was being investigated by a House of Representatives’ panel about an alleged hostile workplace at Snyder’s company and that the NFL refused to release the findings of an investigation into those allegations although the league did fine Snyder $10 million and suspended him from the day-to-day operations of the business. Youngkin may be making the calculation that Snyder will sell the business and new owners would gladly take the opportunity to see if moving to Virginia is feasible.
Virginia legislators gave up on the Snyder stadium proposal last spring. In an effort to convince Virginia politicians to help fund a stadium-village, Snyder’s business conducted an economic impact analysis on the possibility of bringing a stadium-village to Virginia. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, it was an economic generator. JLL Sports & Entertainment’s study painted a rosy picture for everyone as the direct economic impact of the stadium would bring $24.7 billion to Virginia over 30 years, and 2,246 people will have jobs with businesses inside the stadium-village by 2033.
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Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com