ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512060015
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: The Washington Post
After months of contentious negotiations, Maryland and Prince George's, Md., County leaders reached an agreement Sunday with Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke that cleared the way for a new 78,600-seat stadium in Landover, where the team could begin play as early as 1997.
The pact was solidified with the signature of Prince George's County Executive Wayne K. Curry, allowing Cooke to build a $160 million stadium near the Capital Beltway on a site known as the Wilson Farm, government sources said Sunday. Curry, who repeatedly has questioned whether the stadium would truly benefit the county, had been the remaining impediment to Cooke's plan.
Cooke and Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening also approved the agreement, as did Elizabeth M. Hewlett, chairman of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The commission owns the property, which will be sold to Cooke for $4.1 million.
``I'm very happy with the deal, and I'm glad [Curry] signed it,'' said Cooke, reached at home after Sunday night's Redskins game. ``I wish he would've signed it weeks or months ago when he should have, but I'm happy.''
Under the terms of the agreement, Curry, Cooke, Glendening, Hewlett and their representatives were forbidden to discuss details until a news conference scheduled for today.
Coupled with last month's announcement that the Cleveland Browns will move to Baltimore next season, the Redskins' agreement will mean that Maryland, which has had no NFL team since the Colts departed in 1984, soon will have two. It also ends Cooke's seven-year search for a new home to replace the NFL's smallest venue, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in the District of Columbia, where the team has played since Oct.1, 1961. Since 1988, public opposition has prevented Cooke from building in the District, Alexandria and Anne Arundel County, Md.
Besides paying to build the stadium, the 83-year-old Cooke will devote $4.6 million to help the county build a community recreation center and assist a charitable foundation. The state will contribute $78 million to build access roads, parking lots and other facilities around the stadium. The county will contribute $4 million, which will be the proceeds of selling 200 acres to Cooke. In addition, it will donate 100 acres adjacent to the stadium site, valued at about $2 million, for the recreation center.
A few obstacles remain. A coalition of civic groups and individuals who live near the Wilson Farm have filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the County Council decision to change the zoning for the site. No court date has been set.
The agreement comes at a time when the county government is reeling financially and officials are desperately searching for good news on the economic development front. Earlier this year, county leaders closed a $108 million budget shortfall by slashing spending, laying off workers and raising taxes.
The stadium could generate about $5 million in annual tax revenue for the county, according to Cooke's economic forecasts. And the construction of the stadium will bring hundreds of jobs.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 linesby CNB