Handful of Owners Resisting Parameters of New Deal

[SkinzWin]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

He's not tied to it in the way you're referring other than by the fact that it is relatively new for a stadium. It's only now getting into it's middle age period.

And the thing that is keeping him in the stadium more than anything is the implosion in the real estate market (since cities have figured out that stadiums are not the revenue generators they are made out to be). That land is worth a mint 10 years ago. Enough to build him a new stadium. Now...not so much.

Yes, but it is now also the oldest stadium in the NFC East.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Let us look back at how Fed Ex Field came into existence.

Jack Kent Cooke wanted to build a stadium and put his name on it - - not sell naming rights. He tried to get land and zoning changes through the District government for about ten years offering a deal that he would pay for the stadium if they gave him the land and upgraded the road access to the stadium. The DC government never got around to doing anything thinking that he had nowhere else to go but to stay in RFK Stadium. [To those who think FedEx is old and out of date, you should have seen RFK...]

Cooke tried to get a deal done for a site in Alexandria VA but was stopped by a grass roots uprising there. He also looked at a site in Laurel MD; I do not recall what the stumbling block to construction there was.

After years of trying to get Cooke's attention, PG County contacted him at the height of his frustration. He was not getting any younger and if he was going to see his new stadium with his name on it before he croaked, he had to get moving.

Cooke and PG County came to a deal for land and road access; Cooke would build the stadium and he promised that the Redskins would play in that stadium or another stadium in PG County for a specified period of time. [I think that period of time was 30 years meaning the Redskins are "locked into" playing in PG County until about 2025 without a whole lot of legal wrangling.]

Because Cooke was old and wanted to see his stadium up and running before he died, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium was built fast and lots of corners were cut in order to get the stadium done as soon as possible. Cooke also wanted his stadium to be the biggest in the NFL so they built it big.

But the combination of "big" with "fast construction to get the job done ASAP" along with meager road access made Jack Kent Cooke Stadium a disappointing venue the day it opened. There have been changes to the stadium in the Danny Boy era, but adding amenities to Fed Ex Field is more like putting lipstick on a pig than anything else.

As with the ESPN ranking of the Redskins franchise almost at the bottom of the list for sports franchises, FedEx Field is indeed one of the worst stadium experiences in the NFL. Yes, there are worse; the stadiums in Oakland, New Orleans, Buffalo and Minnesota are more than bleak. But Fed Ex Field is clearly in the bottom 25% of the NFL stadiums and the likelihood that will change significantly in the next 5-10 years is small.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

Let us look back at how Fed Ex Field came into existence.

Jack Kent Cooke wanted to build a stadium and put his name on it - - not sell naming rights. He tried to get land and zoning changes through the District government for about ten years offering a deal that he would pay for the stadium if they gave him the land and upgraded the road access to the stadium. The DC government never got around to doing anything thinking that he had nowhere else to go but to stay in RFK Stadium. [To those who think FedEx is old and out of date, you should have seen RFK...]

Cooke tried to get a deal done for a site in Alexandria VA but was stopped by a grass roots uprising there. He also looked at a site in Laurel MD; I do not recall what the stumbling block to construction there was.

After years of trying to get Cooke's attention, PG County contacted him at the height of his frustration. He was not getting any younger and if he was going to see his new stadium with his name on it before he croaked, he had to get moving.

Cooke and PG County came to a deal for land and road access; Cooke would build the stadium and he promised that the Redskins would play in that stadium or another stadium in PG County for a specified period of time. [I think that period of time was 30 years meaning the Redskins are "locked into" playing in PG County until about 2025 without a whole lot of legal wrangling.]

Because Cooke was old and wanted to see his stadium up and running before he died, Jack Kent Cooke Stadium was built fast and lots of corners were cut in order to get the stadium done as soon as possible. Cooke also wanted his stadium to be the biggest in the NFL so they built it big.

But the combination of "big" with "fast construction to get the job done ASAP" along with meager road access made Jack Kent Cooke Stadium a disappointing venue the day it opened. There have been changes to the stadium in the Danny Boy era, but adding amenities to Fed Ex Field is more like putting lipstick on a pig than anything else.

As with the ESPN ranking of the Redskins franchise almost at the bottom of the list for sports franchises, FedEx Field is indeed one of the worst stadium experiences in the NFL. Yes, there are worse; the stadiums in Oakland, New Orleans, Buffalo and Minnesota are more than bleak. But Fed Ex Field is clearly in the bottom 25% of the NFL stadiums and the likelihood that will change significantly in the next 5-10 years is small.

Kinda off topic but I wonder why Cooke was so hard pressed for a new staduim? He knew he wasn't going to be around for many more years and he knew he wasn't leaving the team to his son John.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Kinda off topic but I wonder why Cooke was so hard pressed for a new staduim? He knew he wasn't going to be around for many more years and he knew he wasn't leaving the team to his son John.

He wanted a big new stadium with his name on it because Joe Robbie - - then the owner in Miami - - had one.

He fully intended to leave the team to his son. However, he wrote his will in such an arcane way with the intention of avoiding as much estate tax as possible that it became impossible for John Kent Cooke to come up with the cash needed to buy the team from the estate and the trust that Jack Kent Cooke set up. In essence, Jack Kent Cooke was "too smart by half" when it came to his will...

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by SkinzWin

Yes, but it is now also the oldest stadium in the NFC East.

You can't always be the newest all the time. What were the respective ages of all the other NFC East stadiums before they upgraded?

Exactly...

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by hooskins

You can't always be the newest all the time. What were the respective ages of all the other NFC East stadiums before they upgraded?

Exactly...

Newest isn't always the best thing to be. The "NEW MEADOWLANDS" ...in my opinion stinks,concourse is three times as wide(good thing),bathrooms half the size and not as many,standing room party areas......suck ,more drunks to deal with that distract from the game.
Old Giants stadium was a great place to watch a game ,yet the owners now will pocket more money with this place.....hell with the fan.