SNIDER: Redskins' path to RFK isn’t a straight line

RFK_Stadium
Photo credit Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Related

The road back to RFK Stadium just became a little harder.

The D.C. Council transferred $47 million from Events D.C. on Tuesday to fix 400 public housing units and upgrade its 911 system rather than potentially using some of the funds to lure the Redskins to their former District site. According to WAMU.org, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson created a provision preventing Events D.C. from buying RFK or spending money that leads to the team’s return when building a new stadium by 2027.

It’s not a deal breaker for Washington’s chances to reclaim the team. The move just makes it more complicated.

Admittedly, who can oppose fixing substandard public housing? The money was just sitting in an account unused for now so District residents might as well benefit from it.

But this was more than a money grab. It was a move by Mendelson to keep the Redskins from returning at public expense. While it’s not a death knell, the move previews the city leaders’ response to future dealings with Redskins owner Dan Snyder regardless of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s pro-stance. Events D.C. oversees the Washington Convention Center, Nationals Park, and RFK among others, and stripping funding needed to gain the team is short-sighted.

Some commissioners are still smarting from the 11th-hour deal for a baseball stadium needed to attract the Nats in 2005. But look at what the stadium has done as the centerpiece of the Navy Yard’s rebirth. A dead end of town is now filled with new life. The same goes for Capital One Arena’s impact on Chinatown and Penn Quarter.

Sports venues have made the city money and enhanced quality of life. The eastern gateway into Washington has long needed a lynchpin for growth. While many disagree whether it should be a stadium, music venue or commercial growth used daily, the RFK site will improve the area when reworked.

The District is once more the frontrunner over Maryland and Virginia to gain the Redskins' next stadium. Maryland has supposedly pulled out of talks, though we’ll see about that. Virginia spent billions of dollars luring Amazon’s headquarters to its shores to make a stadium a long shot even in the distant Loudoun County site.

But the District can pull this off if leaders convince the federal government to either extend the current RFK lease or sell the land to the city. Let’s just say that deal is possible, but may take a while.

For opponents who don’t want to spend money on a stadium, what about the expected millions of dollars in revenues from coming sports gambling intended for the city’s general fund? It’s ok to profit from sports, just not invest in a new venue like baseball and soccer?

The return to RFK was always considered a long one. Who knew it would be riddled with potholes?

Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.