With the city of Washington D.C. and the state of Maryland reluctant to give funding to the Washington Commanders for a new stadium, the team has turned to the state of Virginia for help.
Unfortunately for Dan Snyder and the Commanders brass, they’re not getting the answer they want. Not this year at least.
On Thursday, the Virginia General Assembly opted to table a vote on funding for a new stadium in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Senate majority leader Dick Saslaw told the Associated Press that his party’s decision to table the discussion stemmed from a combination of factors, including their off-the-field controversies.
Per ESPN, Senate Democrat Chap Petersen, a Commanders fan, said that he would have voted against the stadium despite initially supporting it. He explained that his colleagues take issue with the “systemic issues” within the Commanders franchise, plus a lack of community backing in the state.
Via ESPN:
“The vote got tabled because there wasn’t support for the stadium for a panoply of reasons,” said Sen. Chap Petersen, a Democrat who had been a longtime fan of the franchise. He also said recently that after initially supporting the stadium, he would have been a “no” vote. “For some people there are some systemic issues. I don’t believe the team has the type of community backing I would expect from a major pro sports franchise and then all the issues with the owner.”
The Washington Commanders have released a statement of their own, supporting the decision to postpone the vote due to the “complexity” of the situation.
The team recently purchased 200 acres of land in Virginia and are seeking funding for a $3 billion stadium project. Their new stadium would feature a 55,000-seat stadium and a large outdoor amphitheater.
Will the Washington Commanders get their new stadium in Virginia?