With a quarter of a million dollars lined up to study the future of a Washington Commanders stadium in Virginia, Democratic Delegate David Reid is hoping the broader economic impacts on his Northern Virginia district will be included in the conversation.
“The stadium complex being talked about is not just a stadium, but it's a mixed-use development that would be 365 days a year with a stadium also included,” Reid said in the halls of the Capitol building in Richmond Wednesday morning.
But with a possible price in the billions, and a history of public investment in such stadiums yielding debatable success, some folks are skeptical. Among them is Senator Bill Stanley whose district includes parts of Southside and South West Virginia.
“I don’t think we should be getting into the game of billion-dollar tax breaks for corporations that make billions of dollars just so the people of Northern Virginia don’t have to drive so far into Maryland to watch their favorite football team,” he told Radio IQ.
Republican House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore thinks it’s a nice idea but, “we just want to make sure the cost is good for the taxpayers.”
“We’ll look at that next year and see what we can do,” he said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has in the past expressed support for a Virginia-based Commanders stadium, and Kilgore said he looks forward to the results of the now-funded study, but any future project will be sure to face an uphill battle.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
