It’s an honor to have the Washington Commander’s Football team consider Prince William County as its future home, Board of County Supervisors Chair At-large Ann Wheeler said today.
“I’m just excited someone would consider siting a professional sports stadium in Prince William County,” said Wheeler. “It speaks to our workforce and to the households who would use the facility.”
PLN first told you in December that the team, formerly the Redskins, was considering two sites for a new stadium: The Horner Road Commuter Lot (repackaged now as Prince William Landing) and Possum Point, near Dumfries.
Prince William and Loudoun counties are in the running for the new stadium. If the team decides to abandon FedEx Field in Maryland, it won’t happen until 2027.
Meanwhile, if the team chooses Prince William County, Wheeler said she’ll work to ensure the region has the needed infrastructure to handle the hordes of fans attending the games. “Everyone cares about traffic,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler, the county’s top elected official, took questions from business leaders Tuesday, May 17, during a Zoom conference hosted by the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. During the 40-minute call, she addressed new development and attracting business to the county, filling more than 200 unfilled jobs in the county government positions. The Board of County Supervisors created at least 100 more when it passed the largest budget in county history last month.
“We are really going to work on internal workforce development in the county. We’re going to look at pay scales in other jurisdictions, and we’ll be making sure we have the employees in place to do the work we need,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler voiced support for allowing businesses to install new water and sewer lines nearly anywhere in the county, a reversal of a quarter-century of development practices aimed at curing growth in the county’s more rural western area (Insidenova.com has more). “When the developer puts in the line, it pays for itself,” said Wheeler.
Wheeler said she wants to make it easier for residents to drive electric vehicles in the county, as it will be unlikely residents will be able to give up their cars due to the suburban, car-centric layout of the area.
“People are still putting in strip malls, and we are car-dependent,” she added.
New developments like the Quartz District, slated to be built at Prince William Parkway and Minnieivlle Road in Woodbridge, home to a future Whole Foods store, and a new town center at the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason University near Manassas will be critical examples of future smart growth in the county, she adds.
Wheeler has served as At-large Board Chair since 2020. She and the other seven members of the Board of County Supervisors are up for re-election in November 2023.
