The Washington Commanders football team is considering three sites in Virginia for their ‘mini city’ football stadium comprising not only a massive stadium (700,000 square feet, on 16 acres) but also an entertainment complex as well as retail and office space and housing. (Think Loudoun One on a much grander scale.)
To finance this huge endeavor two bills are working their way through the General Assembly to create a ‘football stadium authority’ that would sell bonds totaling $1 billion. The team would pony up another $2 billion.
One stadium site being considered is in Sterling, Loudoun Quarries, off the northeast corner of Dulles International Airport. The other two sites being considered are in Prince William County, one along I-95 in Woodbridge and one near the Potomac Shores Golf Club in Dumfries. Only the Sterling site would be near a metro station, (assuming the Silver Line to Dulles eventually opens and the whole system hasn’t gone bankrupt). Some lawmakers in Richmond have discussed the idea of extending to Metro to whichever site is chosen for the stadium complex.
All three of these locations are over 25 miles from Washington DC and all three are in Virginia. Perhaps the name should be changed to the Virginia Commanders?
More on the plans for each of the three sites here. More on the story from the Washington Post.
