You think traffic and parking is bad now at FedEx? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Landover, Maryland. The home of the Washington Redskins since 1997. The stain on Jack Kent Cooke’s legacy as owner of the Redskins that Dan Snyder has helped turn into the equivalent of an abandoned city adjacent to 3-Mile Island.
We all know the story by now. Overpriced parking, traffic that makes rush hour on the beltway look easy, and a 20-minute walk from the closest metro station. Hell, traffic getting in and out of the stadium makes the I-405 on the West Side of Los Angeles a breeze.
You think it is bad now? If Snyder were to put the new stadium in Prince William County near Potomac Mills Mall, that’s the end of people wanting to attend home games. The past few years attendance will look robust compared to what it will be.
History of traffic problems
For those that do not live—or grow up—in Northern Virginia, let me put it bluntly. That section of I-95 is the worst along the east coast. You read that correctly. It is worse than going through Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. A little section in between Richmond and Washington, D.C. creates what should be an hour and forty-five-minute drive in between cities to a two-and-a-half to three-hour snail adventure. It would be even worse for those fans that travel from Maryland and Pennsylvania. You have probably seen evidence on your own on Twitter with team insiders and local reporters trying to get to Richmond for training camp and being stuck in that stretch of traffic.
Growing up in the Herndon/Chantilly area of Virginia instead of going on I-66 to I-95, we would hope on side roads eventually making our way to Route 123 to surpass that traffic on our way to visit my grandparents in Florida. That was back in the 90’s. Imagine what that is like now with everyone trying to avoid that section of I-95.
People say, “Oh, it’s the weekend, it will be better.” No, it really won’t. I drove that section recently on a Sunday in October at 10:00 am and it was brutal. It’s like your doctor telling you that the lube and sedative during a rectal exam will make things better.
To top all the traffic issue off is that there will be no public transportation option. Metro does not go that far south. The Amtrak and VRE stop would make the walk from Morgan Blvd. look like a sprint. The only way to get to the new stadium will be by driving. Adding to the gridlock.
Fans weigh in
We ran a poll earlier this week off The Team 980’s Rick Doc Walker saying that people will fill the stadium no matter where it is. The results were not great, even with the small sample size. 48.1% of voters said they would be LESS LIKELY to attend games if the stadium were in Prince William County. If the product turns into what it has been the past few years, that number jumps to 88.8%.
If the new #Redskins stadium is in Prince Williams County, & w/ how bad the traffic is on that stretch of I-95 (check out @AdamTuss reports) & no public transit would you be more likely or less to attend a game? (H/T to @RickDocWalker for the poll idea) #HTTR RT/Comment below
— FPC Washington (@FPC_WSH) February 20, 2020
So, for the love of all things that are holy, please do not let the new Redskins stadium be built in a place with no public transportation and one major way in or out of the stadium that leads right into the seventh circle of hell. Snyder is better off building the new stadium where FedEx Field currently stands, figure out a way to re-do the traffic patterns, hiring a private shuttle to take people round trip ($25 per person), and have the Redskins play games at College Park for a few years.
