This is such an Obama administration thing to do. Which is to say, it’s petty, pointless, and precedent-setting. That last part isn’t a good thing, from the Democrats’ point of view: as somebody in the comments section here noted, the Washginton Redskins will probably just decide to wait a couple of years. Anyway, here’s the key grafs from The Hill:
The National Park Service (NPS) owns the land under the 54-year-old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, a venue two miles east of the Capitol that hosted the Redskins from 1961 to 1996. Some city leaders want to demolish the current stadium and build a new one to lure the football team back from suburban Maryland.
But Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, whose department includes the NPS, told D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in April that, unless the Redskins change their name, the Obama administration would not work to accommodate construction of a new venue, according to The Washington Post.
So, if you have problems with any facet of the stadium’s aging infrastructure between now and when the new one comes up, Redskins fans, remember: it’s all because Barack Obama likes to engage in sneak behavior. He’d lose an open fight over this issue, and he knows it – so he’ll instead try to use the government as a club to get his way, pretty much exactly like an entitled man-child with no useful skill set. This is the way it goes.
Moe Lane
PS: Personally, I don’t particularly think that the Redskins need a new stadium anyway. Of course, I’m a Giants fan who hasn’t watched a game in forever, so what do I know?
They should change their names to the “DC Tyrants”.
If the Redskins leave Washington I’d bet most of the BS about their name would disappear. But then the whining would start about not having a team in Washington.
The cost to clean up contaminated soil around RFK stadium would be in the hundreds of millions. The NPS owns the land, doesn’t have funds to redevelop it, but will want big buck$$$ in concessions to revise or extend the lease . The team name issue is typical Obama pettiness, but a new stadium at RFK is not going to happen .
Obama really is a pathetic wuss, isn’t he?
BTW – could someone explain to me why the Redskins would want to move back into DC from wherever they are? What exactly would be the attraction to them?
Well, DC has engaged in breathtakingly crappy deals for stadiums for the Nationals and the United (that’s the soccer team) that leave the taxpayers on the hook for the vast majority of costs. So, free money is pretty much the attraction.
But then there is the annoyance factor – which Obama has just emphasized. So Maryland, DC, Virginia – why chose DC when you could go elsewhere when many, many options would be open?
To the DC city government – good and hard, just like you wanted it to be.
If the owners do yield, there’s lots of alliterative names available, such as: Washington Wuzzies, Washington Walkovers, Washington Wimps, Washington Wazoos, Washington Whatevers.
Nah, they should rename themselves the DC Tea Party. Since the original Tea Party was a bunch of folks dressed up as Native Americans, they wouldn’t even need to change the logo.
Honestly, I’d like to see them leave DC altogether…that would be hysterical. I’d suggest to some of those cities that would like to host an NFL team they might want to sent emmisaries to the owner. I know he’s getting tired of all the DC bullshyte…
Both Birmingham and Omaha want a team.