DULLES, Va. — Negotiations between the Washington Commanders and economic leaders in Loudoun County are continuing despite the failure of a stadium financing package that would have given owner Dan Snyder hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay for the stadium.
But if the Commanders want to build its new stadium in Loudoun, it’s going to cost owner Dan Snyder.
The site of the potential stadium may be the most valuable undeveloped land in Virginia. Maybe the entire DMV.
“In my mind, it is one of the most intriguing commercial sites on the east coast,” said Buddy Rizer, Executive Director of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, when discussing the 227-acre rock quarry owned by Chantilly Crushed Stone in Dulles which the Commanders are considering as one of three possible Northern Virginia stadium sites. “So, I can understand why the Commander's and lots of other businesses would be interested in it.”
A source tells WUSA9, that the team offered $400 million for the Chantilly Crushed Stone property, double what it agreed to pay for a similar-sized stadium site in Woodbridge, but the offer was turned down.
Rizer said the talks between the two sides continue with Rizer trying to help broker the deal as part of Loudoun County’s Transit-Oriented Development around the Silver Line Metro Rail. The proposed stadium site is only about a half-mile walk from the soon-to-open Innovation Center Metro Stop.
“I think that there's a real opportunity to create a lot of synergy with a project that has so many integrated pieces out of a metro stop,” Rizer said. “So, I think that ultimately, if we can come to a deal that makes sense. It could be a win for the entire region.”
But Commanders owner Dan Snyder may have competition for the land. Amazon is already buying and leasing hundreds of acres nearby for data centers. Meanwhile, the owners of the quarry have commissioned mock-ups of what a mixed-use retail area could become once a developer acquires the land, in the heart of a county with the highest median income in the country.
The retail concept illustrated by designers is very similar to the Commanders vision for the area around its new multi-billion-dollar domed stadium complex. But with a taxpayer-funded stadium financing package failing this session in the Virginia Legislature, Snyder will have to figure out if the dollars make sense to build there.
Last year, Snyder took on an additional $450 million in debt to buy out minority partners he had been feuding with, according to The New York Times. His financial situation beyond that is unclear.