Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993 TAG: 9302070142
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
DEAL MADE ON 'SKINS STADIUM
Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and District of Columbia officials formally agreed to build a new football stadium, overcoming a problem with minority contracting provisions, Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly said Saturday.The city and the team signed a formal agreement late Friday that calls for Cooke to pay for the construction of a 78,600-seat stadium adjacent to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, where the Redskins now play. Ownership of the new stadium will be transferred to the city after 30 years.
Negotiators agreed Dec. 7 to build the stadium, but the signing of documents was delayed while Kelly held out for a better deal for city residents and minorities.
The signing ends five years of frustration and setbacks in negotiations, including the recent, failed attempt to locate the stadium in Northern Virginia.
"It's signed, sealed and delivered," said Kelly's chief stadium negotiator, Clifford L. Alexander Jr., noting that the deal will not cost city taxpayers any money.
The stadium will be called Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, and will be "the most advanced football stadium built," according to an announcement by the Washington Redskins organization.
It will have a natural grass field and will be ready for the opening of the 1994 season, the team said.
Under the agreement, the city will guarantee $46 million in infrastructure costs associated with the stadium, but will recoup those costs through taxes on tickets, parking, corporate income and the stadium property itself.
Cooke has agreed to pay any additional money required to meet the annual principal and interest payment on the infrastructure cost, up to $4.6 million.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL