Assessing a potential Washington Football Team move to Virginia

The Washington Football Team’s last home was in the District. The current one is in Maryland. But could the next stadium be located in Virginia?

"Let’s broaden the baseball stadium authority to include football, and perhaps we’ll get one of those too," Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said last week. 

He’s not the only one who thinks the Commonwealth could be a fit.

Luis Quintero, an assistant professor at the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University, said one big advantage a new stadium in Virginia could have over the current one in Landover is it would likely be much more accessible.

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"If they were able to move to a location where transit is available, that would definitely increase the attendance to those games," Quintero said.

Depending on future legislation, Quintero believes that the overall tax structure in Virginia would be similar to Maryland, whereas taxes would be higher in D.C.

Quintero also said that while property value in the immediate vicinity of a new stadium would increase, he wasn’t so sure about the economic impact of a new stadium statewide.

"They're really talking about an almost like economy-changing project throughout the state," he explained. "That, I would say, I’m more skeptical about."

Still, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said last week his state is very interested in keeping the team – even if some Maryland-based fans are not.

"I think Virginia would have better luck than Landover," Brandon Wallace said. "We don’t have no luck over here."

Wherever the team ultimately ends up, there won’t be a new stadium in the immediate future. Washington is obligated to play games at FedEx Field until 2027.