One man led the charge for the Washington Commanders to build a new stadium in the state of Virginia, and that was State Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax).
On Thursday, Saslaw acknowledged he was done, and the bill was dead.
This comes one day after Washington defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio referred to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as a “dust-up,” for which he later apologized.
That was the apparent final nail in the coffin for Saslaw.
“This obviously was not very helpful, to put it mildly, but there’s so many other things out there,” Saslaw said, according to the Washington Post. “There were just so many things out there that a lot of people are saying, ‘Saslaw, this thing needs to wait.’”
It sounded as if Saslaw would still support the bill, but with all of the other Senate members recently withdrawing their support for the Commanders, it was no longer a battle worth fighting.
If Saslaw or any other member of the Virginia government didn’t want to do business with Washington owner Daniel Snyder, that is perfectly understandable. But using Del Rio’s comments as a reason to withdraw support feels weak. As we discussed yesterday, Del Rio isn’t a permanent long-term fixture in the organization.
The Commanders building a stadium in the Commonwealth seemed probable earlier this year, but multiple investigations into Snyder and the team’s business practices have created a reason for lawmakers to back out of a deal with the NFL team.
The Commanders released a statement:
“We greatly appreciate the time and effort of bipartisan leaders throughout the Virginia General Assembly in crafting legislation to establish a Football Stadium Authority,” the statement read.
“Given the complexity of this endeavor, coupled with the remarkable economic development opportunity that we believe our new venue project represents, we support the decision of stakeholders in the House of Delegates and the State Senate to more deeply examine this issue. We look forward to continued engagement and open dialogue with stakeholders across the Commonwealth to share our vision and hear directly from communities on their economic development objectives and how we can be a trusted, reliable partner to realize those outcomes.”
As long as Snyder owns the Commanders, it will be difficult for them to receive help in their bid to land a new stadium in any locale.