Redskins not allowed to build on RFK Stadium site unless name is changed

Dan Snyder and many fans of the Washington Redskins may not wish to change their team name, but there are growing pressures to do so.

Not only was it announced that several big-name sponsors are being encouraged to cut ties with the Redskins over their name, but there is also a report, via The Washington Post, that Washington may not be able to get the stadium deal that they wish for in D.C. unless the mascot changes as well.

There is no scenario in which Daniel Snyder will be able to build a new Washington Redskins stadium on the federally owned RFK Stadium site unless he changes the team’s name.

That was the unequivocal message from Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives; D.C. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio; and U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, in separate telephone interviews with The Washington Post on Wednesday.

“I call on Dan Snyder once again to face that reality, since he does still desperately want to be in the nation’s capital,” Norton said. “He has got a problem he can’t get around — and he particularly can’t get around it today, after the George Floyd killing.”

Said Falcicchio: “There is no viable path, locally or federally, for the Washington football team to return to Washington, D.C., without first changing the team name.”

Of course, there are other sites where Washington could build their new stadium, be it somewhere in Maryland, or even in Richmond, VA. However, if the calls for a name change increase and more and more advertisers are pressured to cut ties with the Redskins over their name, it could become increasingly hard for Snyder to find a new home. It seems that the ball is well in motion now, and there doesn’t seem to be many things that can stop it at this point.