Virginia’s most considerable commuter lot could soon be home to the Washington Commanders Football Team (formerly Redskins).
The Associated Press reports the team purchased 200 acres of land in Woodbridge to house a new stadium, practice facility, amphitheater, shops, and restaurants. A concept map shows the Commander’s facility replacing the Horner Road Commuter Lot, the state’s largest, at Interstate 95 and Prince William Parkway, and the Telegraph Road lot, just across the street.
The team’s current lease at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., which has played since 1997, is up in 2027. Despite the land buy in Woodbridge, the team is considering other sites in Loudoun County, Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
Over the years, the team has indicated it wants a new stadium smaller than FedEx Field (seats 90,000) and a complex with a dome in order to be a site for a Super Bowl.
As we first reported by Potomac Local News in December 2021, the property purchased (dubbed Prince William Landing by the county’s Department of Economic Development) is one of two sites the team is considering in the county. The second is at Potomac Shores near Dumfries, near the Possum Point Power Station.
This morning, a county Economic Development Department spokesman said they had not been provided renderings of the proposed stadium and amphitheater.
Dominion Energy, the owner/operator of the power station, plans to construct a landfill next to the gas power plant to store toxic coal ash, a byproduct leftover from when the station burned coal to generate electricity from the late 1940s until 2003.
Some area politicians, including State Senator Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William), weighed in on the Commanders’ Woodbridge land buy, saying they would like to ensure traffic in the area (the section of I-95 by which the stadium would sit is already one of the most congested on the east coast).
I’ve just received this a few minutes ago. Seems to also include land dedicated for commuters as well as a future high school site. Schools and commuters must come first! Need to know how #WashingtonCommanders are gonna resolve these. pic.twitter.com/dtDeaw6uok
— Sen. Jeremy McPike (@JeremyMcPike) May 24, 2022
Delegate Danica Roem (D-Prince William) also said she would vote against any stadium deal for Woodbridge during a newly-called special session of the General Assembly on June 1. During the session, lawmakers are expected to take another vote on a proposed budget, something that has been stalled since March.
I’ll be voting against this again June 1.https://t.co/vluaqNWZhS
— Sen. Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) May 24, 2022
