Harris’ Commanders Ownership Era Starts With A Search For A New Stadium

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Taylor Heinicke set to start again for Commanders at Texans AP/PHOTO

The ownership group wants a new facility by 2031.

The National Football League is finally rid of Daniel Snyder as the owner of the Washington Commanders. And NFL owners even got a little slice of the $6 billion dollars that Joel Harris and his group gave to Snyder as a going away present as Snyder was fined $60 million for terrible behavior as an NFL owner. The league didn’t bother to really discipline Snyder while he was in possession of the Commanders franchise. With Snyder in the rear-view mirror, the Harris ownership period has started and that means rebranding the franchise to where people can root for the team without having to read about a toxic workplace environment and the need for a new stadium. Wait, Harris has already said he plans to have a Commanders’ domed stadium built by 2031. That means Harris will be going to politicians in Washington, D. C., Maryland and Virginia hat in hand looking for some sort of public funding to build a new facility with all of the potential revenue gizmos and gadgets that will eventually go into his ownership’s group’s pocket.  

Getting a stadium built in Washington could be a problem if the Harris ownership group wants to return to the old D. C. Stadium site. The 62-year-old stadium is scheduled to come down which in theory would open up the property to build a new structure. But the federal government owns the property and a deal for the land would have to be done before a stadium proposal can be put on the table. Maryland is hoping to retain the NFL business. The state proposed a deal whereby a village would be built around a new stadium on the Landover property but Snyder had to pay for a facility. Virginia wanted the franchise but Snyder’s behavior was a political problem. The Commanders’ stadium game returns with Joel Harris in charge.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

The Washington Commanders. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky