Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Two lawmakers, one from the District and one from Maryland, are looking to even the playing field in the competition over a new Redskins stadium by preventing either jurisdiction from offering Redskins owner Dan Snyder public tax dollars to fund a new stadium.
“I’m here today because I’m trying to head off a fleecing of the region’s tax payers by Dan Snyder and the Washington football team,” Maryland Delegate David Moon (D-Takoma Park) told reporters. “Too often these new sports stadiums create a zero-sum race to the bottom where states bid millions of dollars against each other to lure a team.”
Both Moon and D.C. Councilmember David Grosso characterized the proposed compact as a way to keep the wooing process fair and equitable.
“Working across state lines on this issue is vital to ensure one state does not secure a competitive advantage over another in negotiations with the Washington football team,” Grosso said.
They have reached out to Virginia lawmakers interested in signing on and have received interest, Grosso said. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has also said he also opposes using public money to build a stadium.
Recent public investment in stadiums, especially in football which only sees 8-12 events a year, has not worked out well, Moon said.
“There is endless literature showing what a terrible return on investment governments get when using public dollars for stadiums,” Moon said.
“Research shows that NFL stadiums do not generate local economic growth that is often promised to cities throughout the country, and they do not necessarily recoup their financial investments over time,” Grosso said.
Grosso and Moon also said the name remains a problem. Both said they recently gave up season tickets because of it.
“I especially do not support public financing going to a team with such a racist and derogatory name,” Grosso said.
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