Josh Harris is going to stick to his ‘done by 2030’ basic timeline for opening a new Commanders stadium, but right now, it’s all about letting DC, Maryland, and maybe Virginia drive the conversations.
“We’ve talked about being done in 2030, and we’re going to try to stick with that but not get into specifics, because were reacting to a political process. You should listen to the jurisdictions themselves and what they think, and we’ll keep up,” Harris said Monday. “I’ll let them drive the conversation on timing, process, and financial details, because I think that’s the way it should be. We’re having a lot of discussions right now, and I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to get in front of governments we’re talking to; they’ll dictate how and when we talk about some of those details, and I think that’s the appropriate way to move forward.”
The latter part was a response to whether or not Harris thinks taxpayers should be part of the funding of a new stadium in some form or fashion, although he did have a roadmap to give those who see it as a burden.
“By and large, anything we do will create massive economic opportunity for that area, from thousands of jobs to opportunity moving forward to construction jobs,” Harris said. “That will all be in the mix, and the cities will make that case, and then we’ll stay behind the cities and allow them to make the case they want to make. But it’s going to have to make sense for the communities themselves and the people living there, certainly.”
That’s something that, perhaps, went sour in Philly for Harris, as all the talk and movement on building a Sixers-centric arena and surrounding environment in Center City Philly ended with the franchise abruptly making a 50/50 deal with Comcast, who owns the Wells Fargo Center where they play now, to build a new arena at the current sports complex and find other ways to revitalize the Market East neighborhood left out in the cold by the move.
And, that’s something that could be a valid concern for either DC or Maryland, depending on which one DOESN’T get the nod for the Commanders’ next stadium – but don’t, Harris warned, conflate the Philly situation with this one, because ‘they are not intertwined at all.’
“Our north star is ultimately what’s the best thing to do for the underlying population. In the case of Philly, we ended up in an amazing situation for the Sixers. Obviously, it’s more complicated here because it’s multi-jurisdictional, but we’re trying to balance everything and do what’s best for the overall region, the fans, and the team,” Harris said. “Ultimately, if you keep your eye on what’s best for a city, negotiations don’t go in a smooth way, and you have to be able to pivot if it’s the right thing to do. We ended up in a great place in Philly, and I’m confident we’ll end up in a great place here.”
And wherever they do end up, Harris confirmed he sees no issue in funding both the new Sixers arena and the next Commanders stadium, but wouldn’t comment on whether he would prefer a situation like the current Northwest Stadium deal – where they own the land, the stadium, and the surrounding area – or one like Nats Park where they maybe lease the site from the jurisdiction.
“DC and Maryland are deciding what they want, and then we’ll react to that and let those conversations play out in confidence,” Harris said. “All I can tell you is we’re really hard at work right now trying to move the process forward with everyone, and figure out an amazing place where our fans and players love to come and opposing teams fear coming, and then do that in the context of improving the area where we’re building and creating a lot of jobs and economic development.”