One thing ignored in this video is access to public transit. When the stadium opened, there were cheap shuttle buses available from the nearest Metro (subway) stations. Those went away in the early 2000s and are replace with either parking (with outrages fees) or Metro with about a 1 mile hike to the stadium. I used to attend a game each year with my Dad, but when the shuttle buses ended, he couldn’t make the hike any more and the cost and stress of driving to the stadium (combined with the quality of play) made it not worth it.
Metro used to do shuttles, but a court ruling required competitive bidding and the whole process became a lot more comply, so the team ended the program. The shuttles were nice because they went to and from 3 different nearby stations and you paid for a round-trip ticket.
When metro rail’s blue line was extended out to near FedEx Field and across the beltway to where the old Cap Centre was in 2004, a lot of the residential and commercial development that exists around the stadium now still hadn’t been built yet. The walk from the new Morgan blvd station to the stadium was nearly a mile, but the game day crowds were basically walking along a four lane street to the stadium through a mostly undeveloped area. The “extra wide” sidewalk wasn’t really wide enough, especially when compared to the extremely wide sidewalk from the metro station to the street, but people had enough room to walk on the grass strip between the he e road and sidewalk if they needed to pass slower older fans. Since then, the area has seen extensive development. There are now residential townhomes with fenced in front yards and trees planted in the grass between the road and sidewalk all the way from the station to the stadium parking lot. That means game day crowds all have to squeeze onto sidewalks that are only really wide enough for 2 people walking side by side. The stadium parking lot is difficult to get to, and the cheaper parking pass holders and pay lots that are/or were in the office park complexes on the other side of the beltway were expensive and a slow shuttle bus ride or very long walk. For fans from northern Virginia, it could be a slow and difficult drive on the beltway to get to the stadium depending on traffic, especially for Monday night and weeknight games that required fans to deal with DC’s horrible rush hour traffic. And I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to build one of those modern Giga churches, the ones that seat thousands of people, right next to a NFL stadium. They both draw their biggest crowds on the same day of the week. The only reason they built the stadium out there is because Prince George’s County would let them do. The team owner paid for the stadium and even paid for an indoor public sports facility for the county that was built next to His stadium. The current team owner made it more difficult to walk to the stadium if you didn’t take metro or pay to park in one of the designated game day parking lots. At least he did add the two escalators to the upper level concourse for the fans, especially the older and slower ones, so they wouldn’t have to walk up the switch back pedestrian ramps. I actually worked for a land surveying company that worked on the extension of metro’s blue line. One of the funny things an older guy in my company told me about related to the construction of the football stadium was when they had to test the new gigantic sewer pipe out of the stadium to see if it could handle being used at its maximum capacity. He said the company got every employee and subcontractor working on the stadium they could find so that every single sink, toilet, shower, and water fountain had a person next to them at the same time. They then got on the stadium’s public announcement system and told everyone 3, 2, 1, FLUSH!” They flushed every single toilet, turned on every single sink faucet, every single shower, and everything else that drained into the stadium sewer line all at the exact same time. They needed to know if the sewer pipe could handle that much waste water in a worst case scenario.
Ticket prices are too high, food and drink prices are too high, the stadium is in a lousy location, & combine that with a team that at best has been mediocre since the stadium was built and like magic you have a bad experience for the fans.
@@kpeterson2434 Yeah whether you try to get on 495 or 202 you're gonna sit, And if it's a Sunday or Monday night game you had better put in for the next day off from work.
Jack Kent COOKE Stadium. When it was new, it was amazing. I have some really good childhood memories in that building. Granted, my seats there don't exist anymore (not even under tarp). My dad was able to get tickets from season ticket holders in the upper deck corners and used to take me to games. It was so much more fun than watching the games at home, although it was a workout getting up to the seats, as it is one of the steeper upper decks in the NFL. I attended D. Green's final regular season home game, and I have the ticket stub to prove it.
If a team is struggling, and crowd numbers are down, why not simply drop ticket prices and get quantity people there. For a cheaper ticket, the more people would fill the stands, and spectators would spend more on the food and drink and extras
I went to watch the Patriots play the Redskins in the 2019-2020 season. It’s when Tom was with the Pat’s. Getting just close to the stadium was a nightmare. Figuring out where to go with a parking pass was just as bad. One ticket for me alone, costed $270+ parking pass was over $80. By the 2nd quarter the Patriots fans made it feel like it was a home game against the Former Redskins. By the 3rd quarter the entire stadium was chanting: “Sell the team.”
The taxpayers money may not have been used to build the stadium itself, but significant taxpayers money were used to pay for the land, roads, water and sewer upgrades to support the facility. Add to that, that the stadium was built in record time creating a local shortage of concrete resulting in construction delays during the construction PSINet Stadium now M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The final price of the construction of just the stadiums was strikingly different with Fed-Ex Field being the less costly of the two.
@@HillValley85 Only if you combine what the state and county spent along with what Jack Kent Cooke spent. M&T was built in an area where the support infrastructure was already in place, FedEx was not.
Revamp RFK and go back there. I remember when that stadium definitely was a “Home Field Advantage.” Visiting teams hated it for the fans being so close to the playing field; not to mention those bleachers that literally shook the stadium.
I agree, these new stadiums are so BIG & put the fans so far away that it’s not fun being there live....I wonder how much longer it will take before a new billion dollar stadium is built that puts the fans right on top of the action to give an experience that is worthy of all the high ticket prices as well as food,alcohol & souvenirs??????
@@frank-xp6pj couldn’t agree more. The first football game I ever went to was at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands. I was maybe 10 rows from the tip top on the 50 yard line. Comparing those seats to the front row of the top level at MetLife is a joke. The new stadium is built taller and spread out further from the field. I have zero desire to go to a game anymore. I might go to one a year just to tailgate with my buddies but the experience at home is just so so much better.
@@acksha that’s right, you know it always amazes me how all these builders & owners etc keep coming up with new stadiums that are not fan friendly as far as viewing a game goes. If I was a team owner or builder I would want to design a stadium or dome that gives the fans the best possible viewing experience they can have....I actually don’t see why games are sold out because in my opinion watching it on TV is far more entertaining & exciting than being there.
What's he care as long as he finds a way for us to pay for it. It's all an EGO thing with these selfish, Fat-Cats. They're more than laughing behind our backs. They're rolling all over the floor and laughing their heads off. Then they're on the way to the bank with our money.
I lived in Alexandria, VA until 2019 and I observed the three ring circus which the Redskins were under Dan Snyder's ownership. To start out Fed Ex Field was built in 1997 by Jack Kent Cooke with private money. The stadium is located in Landover, MD approximately 8 miles east of the US Capitol Building near the Capital Beltway. The stadium's location is not convenient for public transportation so most fans drive. In the 21 years that Snyder has owned the team, they have qualified for the playoffs only 6 times and have never won more than one playoff game in the seasons in which they qualified for the playoffs. Ticket prices are expensive and parking and food and beverages at the stadium are expensive. There is not any atmosphere to the stadium. Over time fans got tired of driving to an inconvenient location and paying high prices to watch what has been a mediocre team. Many of the fans who showed up were there more to get drunk and make noise and over time many of the longtime Redskins fans from the RFK Stadium glory days stopped going. Fed Ex Field is not a nice atmosphere. They will be giving the team a new name by the start of next season and the organization has much work to do to win back an alienated fan base. The success of the Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup) and the Nationals (2019 World Series Winner) have created a contrast with Snyder's mediocre teams.
Definitely not worth it to come from Northern Virginia for lousy football. Big fan base there that stopped showing up and more Eagles and Cowboys fans in the stadium than burgundy and gold. I grew up on the MD side and my dad had season tickets after they moved from RFK, but stopped renewing them about 5 years ago because the team wasn’t even competitive. Embarrassing after growing up on the “glory days “ of Gibbs, the Hogs, Riggins, and Doug Williams . Seems like forever ago. Although Ron Rivera might be the guy to turn the product on the field around if Snyder doesn’t get in the way
Patrick Donlin Fr man. i’m only 22 so all i’ve gotten to see is the bad times. seems like being relevant and winning are just ghost stories. still my team till i die tho, really hope snyder can stay the hell out of the way of success
I think it’s a confluence of several factors - some of which have already been posted. Let me give you my perspective as someone that had season tickets at RFK Stadium and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, after the team made it’s switch. First, ticket prices went up by (as I remember, 50%) the first year at JKC and parking prices doubled. When Dan Snyder become owner, the ticket prices went up again by about 50%. Parking was quadruple what it was at RFK. Access to public transportation - very easy at RFK, was more difficult and required a shuttle bus, at JKC. Everything at JKC was significantly more expensive and then went up even more when Snyder took over as owner. To make matters worse, the fan experience took a back seat. Snyder even started charging fans to watch the team practice. I used to joke that you could feel Snyder’s hand reaching deeper into your pocketbook the closer you got to the stadium. What ultimately led me to give up my tickets was the enormously increased cost and the indifference of the owner to the fan experience. Game day at RFK was an unbelievable experience - it was the hottest ticket in town - even when the Redskins were a crappy team. Within a few short years Snyder took the fun out of going to games. I really don’t think it was about the size of the stadium, I think it was team management that treated fans like crap - believing that their product was so good that fans would never “abandon” the team. Coupled with the fact that the product on the field was increasingly bad and with the drama surrounding the owner, it’s no wonder fans had enough. So, I don’t think it was the size of the stadium nor its inaccessibility nor the increased size that led to the attendance numbers we see now, but rather horrible management that turned the game day experience from something special into something that was anything but. It takes a special kind of stupid to undo the loyalty the Redskins enjoyed for so many years in the DC area. Ultimately, I don’t think it was about the size of the stadium.
Its not the size itself that keeps people from comming but it magnifies the problems by giving a more barren atmosphere at games, it worked out for most of the first 12 years or so but ultimately the biggest reason is the poor on the field play of the last 20 years and now with the name change who knows how support will hold up…
If you look at aerial photos from the stadium’s early years, you might wonder how they added nearly 10,000 seats without any apparent structural expansion. Those seats were added by filling in what was the main concourse, under the second deck. Because the stadium wasn’t designed for seats in those locations, the overhang of the second deck cuts blocks views of the scoreboard and most times when the ball is airborne, and many seat views are obstructed by support pillars. These are the worst seats at any current NFL stadium, and the fact they prevent fans walking around the concourse from viewing the field only makes them worse. And yet, as the Football Team is reducing seating by dismantling the upper deck like an erector set, the terrible seats they shoehorned in so they could call FedEx Field the NFL’s largest remain.
The Washington Football Team are now NFC East Champs... I’m fine with it because of the incredible comebacks from Alex Smith and Ron Rivera! Those 2 make this so inspirational and I’m happy for them! Just wish it was under different circumstances...
@@PrezVeto No mayor wants to be associated with losing a sports franchise. It's politically suicidal to stand up to pro sports in most cases. Here in Indianapolis, we remember Mayor William Hudnut favorably for taking a chance and building the Hoosier Dome (later called the RCA Dome) without a team commitment. The Hoosier Dome did woo the Robert Irsay's Colts from Baltimore. When it came time to replace the RCA Dome, the Colts were in the midst of the Peyton Manning era. They were winning. Jim Irsay softly threatened to move to Los Angeles if he didn't get a new stadium, and he was able to get the sweetest deal of any NFL owner. Irsay held all the cards, and Mayor Bart Peterson knew it. Even with the new deal to keep the Colts in Indy and Lucas Oil Stadium under construction, Peterson still lost his re-election bid.
@@danieldougan269 So the taxpayers of Indy got hosed for nothing. I'm proud of then-Mayor Faulkner for refusing to give in to Spanos and of San Diego voters for backing him in doing so. If voters can't say no because sportsball, then state constitutions should prohibit such hand-outs.
Agreed. Largo, which is outside the Capital Beltway, is at least getting a hospital center to open this year in Summer 2021 with a town center adjacent to it, all right by the Metro station. But on the other side of the Beltway, Landover doesn't have much going on. It has 4 Metro stations in its vicinity (Cleverly, Landover, New Carrollton, and Morgan Blvd), but it lacks a walkable environment around them all. Landover also has a huge vacant lot that was once a mall (Landover Mall, demolished in 2006), and a stadium that probably won't be there after 2027 when the team's lease expires. A bunch of state money was poured into the Beltway interchange where FedEx Field is (Arena Drive), and although that can benefit traffic to Largo, it wasn't exactly anticipated for Largo to be the main draw of that traffic. The DC area is seeing a bit of a housing crunch, and the Federal govt is eyeing PG County for some departments to relocate out of DC. So I don't think Landover is doomed in the long run. But for the next decade, it'll probably continue to be no-man's land.
91,000 in 2001 76,000 today in OFFICIAL capacity ...but only 65K needed to be called a “sellout”. #Fail Bad stadium designs of the 1990’s (See Jacksonville, St Louis....even Baltimore isn’t premiere!) And he nailed it on the poor team/play. Also a mile plus to the nearest metro station?? It’s such a headache!!
The only piece of NFL memorabilia I still own is a t-shirt with "Jack Kent Cooke" stadium. You couldn't get a ticket to RFK stadium unless someone died. Seriously! Enter Dan Snyder, down the shitter it went. I'll never go back to another game and haven't watched one in half a dozen yrs. KMA DAN!
@@bonitaextra6904 yep, destroyed the love SD had for the Chargers by taking them to LA. Can’t even sell out a soccer stadium and now are sharing a stadium with the Rams 😂
@@DDDiego Per the wishes of the NFL. Who weren't happy when the Raiders and Rams left L.A. in '95. The free time L.A. enjoyed on Sunday afternoons now belongs to St. Louis and San Diego.
This video puts too much emphasis on the advent of HDTV as though that’s to blame for people not wanting to go to games in person anymore. It’s not so much that. It’s that they Can’t AFFORD to go. Too damn expensive these days!
As a single person no its not LoL its actually cheap! You sound like you have kids and a wife or something. Then yes it will be expensive paying for 3-4-5 seats and food
The idea of a football game not being sold out blows my mind. Living in Green Bay, Lambeau field is packed every single game, regardless of who we’re playing and our record. The wait list for season tickets is ridiculous. They could probably double the seating and it’d still easily sell out. I think some of it is because the Packers are such a big part of Wisconsin, especially the middle and northern part of the state. Even still tho it boggles my mind that they couldn’t find 91,000 willing to go to a football game while being on the east coast, even if the team was kinda poop.
@@johnmoore1495 its not the ticket price, its not even that the team is mediocre/bad. The Browns have been awful and so was GB for the 70-80s but the fans come. its the feeling that you are being grifted every time you step foot in that stadium to buy a t-shirt/beer etc. it eventually grinds you down. DC FC isn't alone in this. Bad ownership straight up murders a team. As a steeler fan I remember how loud Riverfront stadium in Cincy was and what a tough place to play it the 80s but people are sick of the owner's grift of Cincinatti. Given that you are from Wiscy, a similar comparison is the Pirates and the Brewers. Both have nice ballparks, a similar market size and passionate fanbases. The difference is that the Brewer's owners make an effort to field a successful team and the fans while realizing that yes, the Brewers can't have the Dodgers payroll want to win. The pirates, well they've used advanced metrics to show that they are way more profitable by gutting the squad's payroll and pocketing the revenue sharing money even if only 10K fans show. The owner won't sell, he's making bank on the team (its rumored from leaked documents that the pirates are more profitable than the freaking steelers) its a slow an painful process but eventually the fans realize nothing will ever change and eventually go away.
Win or lose iz not the issue in God's land of Cheese. We BACK our PACK, JACK! So take dat, you owner FAT-CAT! Go PACK Go! ( Which iz an oxymoron. Since they'll always stay)
“Redskins won’t win in the foreseeable future” 2020 NFC East Champions It’s Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Not Jack Kent. Do you even know who Jack Kent Cooke was? The stadium was designed after the old Giants Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium. The original capacity was 78000. Not over 80. Given the fact that the Redskins sold out 55k RFK and had a 20k plus waiting list, it was a sound decision for the size for the stadium. There were empty seats from the beginning in the yellow middle section, I know because I was a season ticket holder for the first five years of the stadium. That area is the club seat section and the pricing was insane even back in 1997, let alone today. Another issue present from the start was awful traffic on game day, in particular leaving the stadium after a game. If a 1pm game ends at 4, you could expect to get home at 6pm if you’re lucky. Another is lack of public transportation nearby and lastly nothing to do around there other than going to the game itself so you either just hang out at the stadium surrounded by drunks or you sit in gridlock. But the stadium is there after negotiations with the city fell apart and another location in northern Virginia met opposition. It was not a first, second or even third choice location. Jack Kent Cooke became desperate to find a spot to break ground after running into brick walls with his preferred locations for the first 5 years of the 90s. He then had the construction done in record time yet still passed away before it opened. Due to short time table of construction, the stadium wasn’t even finished when it did open. The area behind the club seats were still all open air. Funny thing is, as Danny expanded seemingly every year during the first half of the 2000s, the attendance did support it. The new seats were being filled. It’s always been the stupid insane priced club seats and boxes that were problems in selling that left ugly yellow spots visible on the tv shots (Danny has tried to hide them by peppering burgundy seats in there in recent years it appears) But you are right about the state of attendance now. Fans have become numb to Danny’s mismanagement and the interest in going out to the stadium is at an all time low. But that does not mean FedEx is or ever was “oversized”. It is overpriced. It is in a terrible location. Your points about the modern home watching experience are valid but only because of how expensive it is to go to a game and the game day experience. Not the size of this stadium. I think going out for entertainment, be it films or sports, is dying in general anyway. I would expect the eventual new stadium to be about 65k in size (maybe 70) but will continue to be super expensive and thus filling it will be a chore once the novelty wears off and if the Football Team continues to toil in the bottom 4th of the league.
A college team could have won that pathetic division this year. Somebody had to win. The 6-10 Giants could have done it. They won by default; they sucked slightly less.
Well people still go to the movies, since many new, long anticipated films still make good money, not counting when COVID put a huge dent into that. Doing that is still a nice event to see movies on those large theater screens, with many other spectators watching what you are with them, while being the first to see films before they become available on home media. Plus that's something you can easily do with a family of at least four (or more) without having to spend literally an entire paycheck on, like you almost have to do when attending a major league sporting event these days for that matter as well.
I don't think it's oversized. The problem is a testament to the chronic mismanagement of the team during the Snyder era. They have made many terrible decisions with free agents and personnel in general. According to people in the area, there are no convenient links to mass transit and parking is expensive. Also, include costly concessions and it is not a fan-friendly experience to go there.
It's one thing to get hungry and have to pluck down good, hard earned, money to satisfy your hunger while watching savages rip each other apart. I get that would make anybody hunger to throw garbage down their throats. But then to have to see sideline slop in the form of primitive, political poop written for us to mentally ingest and have to put up with their constant primitive political poop in our ears is asking a bit too much.
We saw Paul McCartney there about ten years ago. It was a really poor experience. Parking was outrageous and there were no busses or underground that served the stadium.
I don't think FedEx really ever had any "glory days." LOL. RFK? Yes, absolutely. Glory days galore and a very tough ticket. But in the nearly 25 years of FedEx, there have been no deep playoff runs.
I think Dan Snyder also relied too heavily on the history of Washington fans to remain loyal to the team in some of his decision making. As a Washington native, I can honestly say that the fans here still love the team, but are displeased with the owner. All those other factors aside, if Snyder or whoever the owners are starts to reconnect with the fans, the attendance rate will skyrocket.
What do you say is true, however, it all depends on what age group because those in the over 40 and over 50 crowd still very much love this team, however those in the under 40 crowd like myself and those in the under 30 crowd could care less(even those of us who are fans)
I grew up in the area (Landover) and the location of EVERYTHING in that area is shit. The middle/elementary school down the street was a pain to get too, NO METRO or bus that takes you straight there; (closest station is Morgan Blvd and it’s a twenty minute walk from there) and to top it all off; THE TEAM IS ASS. Edit: And don’t get me started on the damn Sunday traffic coming from the Beltway, Largo Town Center and Jericho Church (that blue building in the background)
M&T Bank Stadium was PSINet Stadium - the Ravens moved nowhere. (PSINet Stadium was built next to Oriole Park on purpose - a deliberate siting decision; the pair is also fed by Interstate 395 - which comes directly off Interstate 95. The entire Camden Yards complex is also also a hop/skip/jump from the Inner Harbor and Harborplace - and is fed by three different mass transit systems - MARC's Camden Line and light rail and the MTA. All of that was not available to Cooke. (I don't hate PSINet Stadium - or the Ravens, for that matter - in an ear, I pointed out that I have actually been there for a game (preseason) - I had been to JKC for a Redskins preseason game the previous year.
Damn, I never realized RFK was literally right down the street from the US Capitol. It would be a great site for a modern NFL stadium that would also be a great place to host the Army-Navy game.
I remember in about year 1999, when more seating was added to this stadium. It was joked that these newly added seats were far behind the 'real seating', out back, and behind the upper deck.
From that area The team not playing good didn't help Being trash on primetime didn't help Sitting in traffic before and after the game didn't help Not having real public transportation to get there doesn't help (I have taken long walks to two sides of the stadium to get there) My idea was knock down RFK and put a new stadium there one problem DC doesn't even want them back
Very true. In my opinion they are going to either renovate FedEx field or build right across from it. Dan hasn’t helped himself with a side of the mediocre to shit team on the field to the lawsuits with his minority owners and the sexual-harassment stuff
A Washington Post sports writer, upon the opening of Fedex Field, commented that the structure, as seen from the outside, "looks like a spaceship from a dull planet".
I’ve lived in the neighborhood right behind the stadium my whole life and believe me we don’t want the stadium here either. Out of towners park in our reserved spots and litter in our yards
I wonder if all giant stadiums, post pandemic, will be dramatically reduced? Just like airlines, it is better to have a packed facility, and then you can charge more per ticket, then high capacity?
The more economical solution would have been to lower ticket prices so that families can afford to go to the games. There is still great enthusiasm for football in America. They just need to lower the ticket prices and compete with HD television.
I once heard that Redskin tickets were one of the hardest to get. That the waiting list for season tickets was longer than the waiting list for the Green Bay Packers. Now the team struggles to sell out games? What the Redskins, I mean the Washington Football Team, needs is a new owner.
The Redskins waiting list was somewhat lore, fueled by the limited capacity of RFK. In the Spurrier era, or maybe Gibbs 2.0, fan dissatisfaction was starting to take hold. Fans were declining the tickets that they had waited so long to get. Thinking they had forfeited their spots for many years, fans were surprised to learn that they were receiving ticket notifications the very next year. Either the list was easily burned through when JKC opened, it wasn't as large as advertised, or everyone on it was passing up their turn. None are favorable to the team.
I blame the former great owner, Jack Kent Cooke,who decided not to leave ownership of the team with his family, for the debacle we’re currently in. He alone opened this Pandora’s box and the now Danny Show. Proofing that it takes more than wealth to really be rich!
Greed took its toll . We as fans would love to be at the stadium. But after 30 bucks for parking, 18 bucks for a 10 ounce beer, 150 dollars for the cheap seats ect . . You guys priced us out . You also confiscated our food so we must buy your way overpriced food . Not in most people’s budget . We will watch it at home no matter what the quality of our TV is .
While I have occasionally been to all the professional sports venues, I realized it not worth it. Travel, parking, weather, cost, food, etc... Its just a pain. Watching it at home, even before HDTV, was a better experience. PVRs and the eventual rise of HDTV cemented it for me. I would not go to a stadium again.
@@joseangelmejia9647 isn’t the normal timeframe for a stadium 20 years? At least one like FedEx Field because these new stadiums like Sofi and Allegiant seem like they can stand the test of time!
I know FedEx is bigger but when the Redskins left RFK they left behind one of the best home field advantages in the league, Every team that plays Washington at FedEx now is another home game for them.
wow this is kind of a horrible overview. You didnt even mention the fact that they moved the stadium from DC to a part of MD that at the time didnt have great infrastructure or good access to the metro like RFK did along with some other logistical problems. parking sucked, traffic sucked and people didnt wanna go through all that either.
Football being football though, had Daniel Snyder cared about putting good football teams on the field, they probably wouldn’t have torn up part of the stadium, and fenced/tarped off more of it, and the location would be an afterthought rather than one of the big negatives.
What is going on with the process of finding a new name? Are fans going to get to suggest names like with the Toronto Blue Jays? Are they going to be given a short list of names to vote on?
It's funny the old joint that they played at, RFK, was incredibly undersized, but was a great stadium. I really hope they rename the current joint to to Cooke Stadium or Gibbs Field. Y'all Skins/WFT fans need a name change of the Stadium to forget the horrid Snyder era.
So.....the stadium is still in good shape and not that old, but they want a new one because nobody goes to Washington games anymore because of how bad the team has gotten? Maybe it's over my head but this makes no sense to me at all. Yes, it looks bad when 1/4 of the stands are empty. How about lowering ticket prices to bring fans back while the team rebuilds. Imagine if they do get a new, smaller stadium and then get good again and need more seats, then what?
Actually, the stadium is NOT still in decent condition. The massive expansions done in the early years were done without reinforcing the structure, because Snyder is such a cheapskate, so the weight of the extra seats, along with sellout crowds jumping around and cheering, has done a number on the building. There are some pretty deep, concerning cracks in the concrete frame of the stadium. So a new stadium is actually pretty necessary...
to not even mention how terrible the fan experience before, during and after the game is ignoring the biggest problem! not much research went into this video!
@@forgottenplaces9780 But one of the reasons its oversized is because not one person who has ever been to a game there has ever said its a good experience. it was not oversized in the early 2000s when the team stunk and fans kept showing up and selling out the place. it took about 10 years for the people of the dmv to realize ill have a better experience win, lose or draw at home rather then going to joint that takes an hour to get too from anywhere in dc
@@patrickgrant3458 yes but in the early 2000s the team had not been bad for 20 years and the stadium was still relatively new plus attendance for live sports in general was higher back then due to tv quality and other factors 90k for a stadium was ambitious even back then in the nfl when other teams were building 70-75k stadiums the packers have had a 30 yr waiting list and much more winning and they never expanded lambeau to those numbers most new stadiums are being built and rennovated to smaller capacities today and they had fairly smaller stadiums by capacity to begin with
@@patrickgrant3458 I am going to denounce your statement right now. There is at least one fan who had great experiences there. I have fond memories of my dad taking me to games there. The fan experience was phenomenal in the early years. The extra entertainment offered around the venue pre-game and post-game was awesome, there were a number of superfans who eventually got officially licensed by the team and FedEx who were at EVERY game and made commercials for local businesses, and the hogs hosted a tailgate party every single home game. Because the bowl was an enclosed ring, the acoustics were great for concerts and fan noise stayed inside the stadium, making it one of the loudest places to watch a game, when it's filled with home fans. If Jack Kent Cooke had handed the team down to one of his kids and not sold it to Danny boy, it would still be a good stadium and a fun place to watch a game.
Forgot to mention the Ravens entering the NFL in 1996. Baltimore/DC Metro Area population is more or less 10 million, and the two cities already "share" an MLS, NHL and NBA team, and at the time, an MLB team too (Nats didn't come until after 2000). The Ravens entering the league, and having immediate success, almost certainly caused a decrease in attendance too. When the metro area shared one team, *and* the team was good (2/3 Super Bowls were won when Baltimore didn't have a team), it easily filled up 91,000. Unfortunately, though, times have changed and now we need a covered stadium so we can also use it for Final Fours and Superbowls to bring in more revenue
I doubt we’ll get a covered stadium because yes it’s cold here in Maryland and we get snow it’s not a necessity like Minnesota or Indianapolis and M&T, Bills Stadium, and MetLife don’t have roofs.
@@shonhenderson4227 Atlanta, LA, Houston, Minnesota all got new stadiums in the past few years, and they're all covered. Real Madrid is redoing their stadium to put a roof over it. A general wave in stadium construction right now is a roofed stadium, so no weather (weather is be hot, cold, snow, rain, etc) delays games, but also so they can host larger events. A covered stadium in DC will let us host the Super Bowl and Final Fours, which will help draw taxpayer support because then the stadium is more versatile.
@@anthonyliberatori that’s true that’s the next wave in stadiums at first it was cookie cutters like RFK was the first one so 2 sports can be played. Then the next wave was I don’t know just the biggest and most modern. Now it’s like currently the same but just adding roofs.
Hahahaha... not quite. I lived in Baltimore from the late 80s to early 90s and I can assure you those folks didn’t give a rip about the Redskins or the NFL after the Colts skipped town. They even supported the CFL Baltimore Stallions like crazy because they craved their own team much more than settling to cheer for Washington. I’ve attended more than my share of Ravens and Redskins games in the last 30 years at Memorial Stadium and M&T in B-more to RFK and JCK/FedEx for the Skins and here’s the best thing about FedEx: You could pull off the day/night doubleheader, especially if the Ravens had the early game. But but but ... FedEx is a logistical nightmare to get out of whether you drove or took the Metro. Park in the wrong place for a night game and you might not even get out of the parking lot until 1AM. It sucked hard. The biggest problem with FedEx is that the expansions made it hard to keep the home field advantage, especially in division. Sometimes the intradivision banter was fun (especially with the Philly fans, for some reason) but around 2010 the in-stadium experience had started to deteriorate at FedEx and in Baltimore as well- mostly due to the fans. I just came to watch the game, man. So it’s not surprising that big stadiums and the WFT are failing when you combine astronomical ticket prices, terrible ownership, a bad product on the field and, yes, even high-def TV broadcasts on affordable big screens. The whole publicly financed stadium model has to be rethought, especially when you factor in the influence of the pandemic on large gatherings. TL;DR: FedEx was at least good for day/night NFL doubleheaders. So it had that going for it, which was nice.
Ravens maybe took some fans between the beltways but I don't think its substancial. Its kinda amazing tho. I remember when Balt won their 1st SB, everybody was like yea, that's nice but it was still Orioles-town. Today its totally flipped. The ravens just took all the oxygen from the Orioles. Shows you what bad and good management will do.
Ticket prices are through the roof. I go to about 1 game a season I’m a packers fan from New York never been to Lambeau but have been to MetLife to see the Packers multiple times. It’s a lot of money between the tickets, parking and food. Even if you get food a head of time and tailgate it is still a lot and a pain in the ass to cook in a parking lot. Besides a few stadiums there aren’t many I’d want to go to just to be at that stadium. Baseball however the stadiums have a lot more character so it is more of an attraction. I enjoy going to games but it is very tough it is an all day commitment whereas a baseball or hockey game I can do whatever during the day and show up 30 minutes before the baseball game and it doesn’t impact the rest of my day.
To be fair @3:33 the stadium is empty due to a blizzard that was happening and road conditions weren’t safe. Yeah the team sucked as well but it’s more to it than that. I remember about 10 minutes before kickoff people were selling dream seat tickets (front row all inclusive) for under 10$.
It takes just as long to park and leave as the game does from start to finish, not to mention the 2 games I’ve been to were half filled with the away team
Yesss it’z about time for da Washington Football Team 2 get an new venue. I like da new stadium design!!! There new name should be da Washington Warriorz!!!
That guy bought up all the copyrites to quite a few,(about 10) names probably thinking he could make a fortune off of Diaper Dan Douche Bag. Warriors was one of them.
Have grown up going to Washington football games at this stadium and it is quite the dump. Location makes no sense, gameday costs like parking, food and beers are ridiculously overpriced, and no matter what team we are playing their fan base always seems to be big and loud at the stadium... oh and the team sucks. I was at that infamous chiefs game you showed at the end it was miserable
Like the Wash. Cathedral, they were looking for an "Elevated" place to build so as too be seen from as many points of view as possible. I guess it's sort of an ego thing, I'm sure.
Went to one game here..made the mistake of parking early in the stadium lot..After walking around for an hr after the game, it still took 3..THREE..hrs to get out of lot..Nobody flagging traffic and it was a funell to exit..no one would let each other out..horrible
We have a music venue outside of cleveland called blossom music center where there is only 2 ways out and the road out is a one lane rd… Its the worst takes forever to get in or out people even were suing the venue for not getting into concerts on time this yr lol, i know your pain…
Why just partition them off and not make them for sale? (I am asking this of the NFL). It’s not like the NFL ever pays for a stadium, so they have nothing at stake for a venue that has excess capacity. Just wondering out loud here whether games in Los Angeles were on local TV, as selling out the Coliseum for the Rams or the Raiders would be a miracle. Maybe that’s why the Rams started playing at Anaheim?
Not a WFT fan but the stadium isn't the issue. If the team start winning the fans will return. The relocation talk is due to accessibility of the stadium/parking and a lot of fans want the team back in DC
2022 this stadium will be 25 years old. Redskins haven't been doing as well since they moved from RFK to FedEx field. Could it be the curse of Dan Synder? The team is looking for to build a new stadium
The stadium was built outside of Washington DC and built in Maryland to spite the newly moved Ravens. But mostly the problem with the stadium is the owner who has not kept up with maintenance and who puts a lousy product on the field causing fans to turn their backs on the team. Also from what I hear public transit is almost nonexistent and traffic is awful.
Others have mentioned key things, like no public transit, too many loses, etc. Another is that the stadium was built as cheaply as possible. Jack Kent Cook was a frugal businessman, the stadium was built quick and dirty. It has a lot of poor sightlines, seats that have mediocre views of the field, seats that are too far from the field, stairs that are way too steep for comfortable walking. And the highest seats are a very long way from the parking level. Access from the parking lots to the highways is terrible, it takes hours to get out of the lots after a game.
When it was put in Landover, Maryland that was a mistake. The stadium should be right in D.C. That might be another reason for poor attendance at the games because people don’t want to drive to Landover from Washington D.C.
One thing ignored in this video is access to public transit. When the stadium opened, there were cheap shuttle buses available from the nearest Metro (subway) stations. Those went away in the early 2000s and are replace with either parking (with outrages fees) or Metro with about a 1 mile hike to the stadium.
I used to attend a game each year with my Dad, but when the shuttle buses ended, he couldn’t make the hike any more and the cost and stress of driving to the stadium (combined with the quality of play) made it not worth it.
Interesting. Every now and then, the Comment Section comes through with a good nugget of information from a real fan. 👍
It's mind-blowing that they don't just extend the #24 bus line up to FedEx Field on game days.
Metro used to do shuttles, but a court ruling required competitive bidding and the whole process became a lot more comply, so the team ended the program. The shuttles were nice because they went to and from 3 different nearby stations and you paid for a round-trip ticket.
When metro rail’s blue line was extended out to near FedEx Field and across the beltway to where the old Cap Centre was in 2004, a lot of the residential and commercial development that exists around the stadium now still hadn’t been built yet. The walk from the new Morgan blvd station to the stadium was nearly a mile, but the game day crowds were basically walking along a four lane street to the stadium through a mostly undeveloped area. The “extra wide” sidewalk wasn’t really wide enough, especially when compared to the extremely wide sidewalk from the metro station to the street, but people had enough room to walk on the grass strip between the he e road and sidewalk if they needed to pass slower older fans. Since then, the area has seen extensive development. There are now residential townhomes with fenced in front yards and trees planted in the grass between the road and sidewalk all the way from the station to the stadium parking lot. That means game day crowds all have to squeeze onto sidewalks that are only really wide enough for 2 people walking side by side. The stadium parking lot is difficult to get to, and the cheaper parking pass holders and pay lots that are/or were in the office park complexes on the other side of the beltway were expensive and a slow shuttle bus ride or very long walk. For fans from northern Virginia, it could be a slow and difficult drive on the beltway to get to the stadium depending on traffic, especially for Monday night and weeknight games that required fans to deal with DC’s horrible rush hour traffic. And I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to build one of those modern Giga churches, the ones that seat thousands of people, right next to a NFL stadium. They both draw their biggest crowds on the same day of the week. The only reason they built the stadium out there is because Prince George’s County would let them do. The team owner paid for the stadium and even paid for an indoor public sports facility for the county that was built next to His stadium. The current team owner made it more difficult to walk to the stadium if you didn’t take metro or pay to park in one of the designated game day parking lots. At least he did add the two escalators to the upper level concourse for the fans, especially the older and slower ones, so they wouldn’t have to walk up the switch back pedestrian ramps. I actually worked for a land surveying company that worked on the extension of metro’s blue line. One of the funny things an older guy in my company told me about related to the construction of the football stadium was when they had to test the new gigantic sewer pipe out of the stadium to see if it could handle being used at its maximum capacity. He said the company got every employee and subcontractor working on the stadium they could find so that every single sink, toilet, shower, and water fountain had a person next to them at the same time. They then got on the stadium’s public announcement system and told everyone 3, 2, 1, FLUSH!” They flushed every single toilet, turned on every single sink faucet, every single shower, and everything else that drained into the stadium sewer line all at the exact same time. They needed to know if the sewer pipe could handle that much waste water in a worst case scenario.
God bless everyone..,,
Ticket prices are too high, food and drink prices are too high, the stadium is in a lousy location, & combine that with a team that at best has been mediocre since the stadium was built and like magic you have a bad experience for the fans.
Yeah absolutely, 495 is a parking lot when exiting.
Worse decision ever buying a condo near moved within 2 years lol
@@kpeterson2434 Yeah whether you try to get on 495 or 202 you're gonna sit, And if it's a Sunday or Monday night game you had better put in for the next day off from work.
as the N 'ot' F 'or' L 'iberty' League moves farther Left, fans will continue to abandon
@@Brucev7 Typical Reich wing 🐂💩
Jack Kent COOKE Stadium. When it was new, it was amazing. I have some really good childhood memories in that building. Granted, my seats there don't exist anymore (not even under tarp). My dad was able to get tickets from season ticket holders in the upper deck corners and used to take me to games. It was so much more fun than watching the games at home, although it was a workout getting up to the seats, as it is one of the steeper upper decks in the NFL. I attended D. Green's final regular season home game, and I have the ticket stub to prove it.
I was at D. Green last game too my only good memory of that place
Who is D. Green
@@PInk77W1 Darrell green
@@rstreet5537 not familiar with him.
@@PInk77W1 how
If a team is struggling, and crowd numbers are down, why not simply drop ticket prices and get quantity people there. For a cheaper ticket, the more people would fill the stands, and spectators would spend more on the food and drink and extras
You got to remember Dan Synder’s massive ego that would refuse to hear the idea
U make waay too much sense
They don't want poor people to come to games because they think it brings a criminal element.
@@mykull666 well that's prejudice!
@@elscruffomcscruffy8371 Thats maryland for you
I went to watch the Patriots play the Redskins in the 2019-2020 season. It’s when Tom was with the Pat’s. Getting just close to the stadium was a nightmare. Figuring out where to go with a parking pass was just as bad. One ticket for me alone, costed $270+ parking pass was over $80. By the 2nd quarter the Patriots fans made it feel like it was a home game against the Former Redskins. By the 3rd quarter the entire stadium was chanting: “Sell the team.”
idk if it was just because it was a while ago but The tickets are not 270 Dollars. There 50 dollars if u want a good seat thats not at the top
What wasn't mentioned was Jack Kent Cooke spent his own money for the stadium and NOT the taxpayers' money.
The taxpayers money may not have been used to build the stadium itself, but significant taxpayers money were used to pay for the land, roads, water and sewer upgrades to support the facility.
Add to that, that the stadium was built in record time creating a local shortage of concrete resulting in construction delays during the construction PSINet Stadium now M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The final price of the construction of just the stadiums was strikingly different with Fed-Ex Field being the less costly of the two.
@@SandBoxJohn Actually, Fedex's construction cost was higher than M&T's.
@@HillValley85 Only if you combine what the state and county spent along with what Jack Kent Cooke spent. M&T was built in an area where the support infrastructure was already in place, FedEx was not.
Which more of these owners should do
The taxpayers always pay for something with these new stadiums.
Revamp RFK and go back there. I remember when that stadium definitely was a “Home Field Advantage.” Visiting teams hated it for the fans being so close to the playing field; not to mention those bleachers that literally shook the stadium.
Drop $500 million in rfk and go back.They put 300 in arrow head..why NOT!!!
I agree, these new stadiums are so BIG & put the fans so far away that it’s not fun being there live....I wonder how much longer it will take before a new billion dollar stadium is built that puts the fans right on top of the action to give an experience that is worthy of all the high ticket prices as well as food,alcohol & souvenirs??????
@@frank-xp6pj couldn’t agree more. The first football game I ever went to was at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands. I was maybe 10 rows from the tip top on the 50 yard line. Comparing those seats to the front row of the top level at MetLife is a joke. The new stadium is built taller and spread out further from the field. I have zero desire to go to a game anymore. I might go to one a year just to tailgate with my buddies but the experience at home is just so so much better.
@@acksha that’s right, you know it always amazes me how all these builders & owners etc keep coming up with new stadiums that are not fan friendly as far as viewing a game goes. If I was a team owner or builder I would want to design a stadium or dome that gives the fans the best possible viewing experience they can have....I actually don’t see why games are sold out because in my opinion watching it on TV is far more entertaining & exciting than being there.
The seats shook at rfk because half of the seats had missing nuts and bolts they were old as fuck lmao
A brand new stadium isn't going to bring in sold out fans, Dan Snyder.
What's he care as long as he finds a way for us to pay for it. It's all an EGO thing with these selfish, Fat-Cats. They're more than laughing behind our backs. They're rolling all over the floor and laughing their heads off. Then they're on the way to the bank with our money.
better location might
If it only seats 60,000 people, it might.
I lived in Alexandria, VA until 2019 and I observed the three ring circus which the Redskins were under Dan Snyder's ownership. To start out Fed Ex Field was built in 1997 by Jack Kent Cooke with private money. The stadium is located in Landover, MD approximately 8 miles east of the US Capitol Building near the Capital Beltway. The stadium's location is not convenient for public transportation so most fans drive. In the 21 years that Snyder has owned the team, they have qualified for the playoffs only 6 times and have never won more than one playoff game in the seasons in which they qualified for the playoffs. Ticket prices are expensive and parking and food and beverages at the stadium are expensive. There is not any atmosphere to the stadium. Over time fans got tired of driving to an inconvenient location and paying high prices to watch what has been a mediocre team. Many of the fans who showed up were there more to get drunk and make noise and over time many of the longtime Redskins fans from the RFK Stadium glory days stopped going. Fed Ex Field is not a nice atmosphere. They will be giving the team a new name by the start of next season and the organization has much work to do to win back an alienated fan base. The success of the Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup) and the Nationals (2019 World Series Winner) have created a contrast with Snyder's mediocre teams.
Indeed. I will add though that the caps and the Nats were making more playoff appearances than the skins have in Snyders 20+ years of ownership
Also, people aren’t even staying home to watch them.
Addison Road station is close.
I have never seen a stadium receive a haircut until this video. 😂
I laughed too hard at this
don’t forget it’s also in landover, MD. anyone whos been on DC metro knows that’s completely away from the rest of the city
Definitely not worth it to come from Northern Virginia for lousy football. Big fan base there that stopped showing up and more Eagles and Cowboys fans in the stadium than burgundy and gold. I grew up on the MD side and my dad had season tickets after they moved from RFK, but stopped renewing them about 5 years ago because the team wasn’t even competitive. Embarrassing after growing up on the “glory days “ of Gibbs, the Hogs, Riggins, and Doug Williams . Seems like forever ago. Although Ron Rivera might be the guy to turn the product on the field around if Snyder doesn’t get in the way
Patrick Donlin Fr man. i’m only 22 so all i’ve gotten to see is the bad times. seems like being relevant and winning are just ghost stories. still my team till i die tho, really hope snyder can stay the hell out of the way of success
@@patrickdonlin4366
Totally agree.
Landover is like 10 mins from dc about 20 from old rfk
We "Out of towner's" liked that the "Cap" Ctr. and Stadium were further away from that "Zoo" of a City.
I think it’s a confluence of several factors - some of which have already been posted. Let me give you my perspective as someone that had season tickets at RFK Stadium and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, after the team made it’s switch. First, ticket prices went up by (as I remember, 50%) the first year at JKC and parking prices doubled. When Dan Snyder become owner, the ticket prices went up again by about 50%. Parking was quadruple what it was at RFK. Access to public transportation - very easy at RFK, was more difficult and required a shuttle bus, at JKC. Everything at JKC was significantly more expensive and then went up even more when Snyder took over as owner. To make matters worse, the fan experience took a back seat. Snyder even started charging fans to watch the team practice. I used to joke that you could feel Snyder’s hand reaching deeper into your pocketbook the closer you got to the stadium. What ultimately led me to give up my tickets was the enormously increased cost and the indifference of the owner to the fan experience. Game day at RFK was an unbelievable experience - it was the hottest ticket in town - even when the Redskins were a crappy team. Within a few short years Snyder took the fun out of going to games. I really don’t think it was about the size of the stadium, I think it was team management that treated fans like crap - believing that their product was so good that fans would never “abandon” the team. Coupled with the fact that the product on the field was increasingly bad and with the drama surrounding the owner, it’s no wonder fans had enough. So, I don’t think it was the size of the stadium nor its inaccessibility nor the increased size that led to the attendance numbers we see now, but rather horrible management that turned the game day experience from something special into something that was anything but. It takes a special kind of stupid to undo the loyalty the Redskins enjoyed for so many years in the DC area. Ultimately, I don’t think it was about the size of the stadium.
Its not the size itself that keeps people from comming but it magnifies the problems by giving a more barren atmosphere at games, it worked out for most of the first 12 years or so but ultimately the biggest reason is the poor on the field play of the last 20 years and now with the name change who knows how support will hold up…
If you look at aerial photos from the stadium’s early years, you might wonder how they added nearly 10,000 seats without any apparent structural expansion. Those seats were added by filling in what was the main concourse, under the second deck.
Because the stadium wasn’t designed for seats in those locations, the overhang of the second deck cuts blocks views of the scoreboard and most times when the ball is airborne, and many seat views are obstructed by support pillars. These are the worst seats at any current NFL stadium, and the fact they prevent fans walking around the concourse from viewing the field only makes them worse.
And yet, as the Football Team is reducing seating by dismantling the upper deck like an erector set, the terrible seats they shoehorned in so they could call FedEx Field the NFL’s largest remain.
Stupiditas Omnia Vincit:
Stupidity Conquers All!
i bet it wouldve been better to block off those seats than the upper deck
The Washington Football Team are now NFC East Champs... I’m fine with it because of the incredible comebacks from Alex Smith and Ron Rivera! Those 2 make this so inspirational and I’m happy for them! Just wish it was under different circumstances...
7-10
@@jonnydanger7181 Can't blame a rebuilding team for getting into the playoffs. Their QB has 1 leg.
The Redskins
Maybe most people "just" wish it was under a different owner.
@@jonnydanger7181 records dont matter when you are a champion of something.
And now the team doesn't even have a name.
To me that put the nail in the coffin....ridiculos....a team without name makes them a team without an identity....let them fade even more away
@@davidlucasmachado2831 They should just move to St. Louis tbh
@@Z64sports yeah maryland wont let that happen the team still owns md like 8 or 9 years before they can move
@@Z64sports Where 2 NFL franchises have already left?
@@davidlucasmachado2831 better than some stupid name like redwolves warriors or whatever childish peewee football name they come up with
Really like your videos dude. Subscribed and looking forward to more! 🙂
Build a stadium here then build another one there then build yet another one.... Oh the never ending cost to enjoy mankind's bread and circuses.
You so right! But what do the Rich Fat Cats care as long as they dump the bill on you & me?
@@josephgadow9959 Why do the voters keep tolerating it?
This particular stadium was built with private money, though.
@@PrezVeto No mayor wants to be associated with losing a sports franchise. It's politically suicidal to stand up to pro sports in most cases.
Here in Indianapolis, we remember Mayor William Hudnut favorably for taking a chance and building the Hoosier Dome (later called the RCA Dome) without a team commitment. The Hoosier Dome did woo the Robert Irsay's Colts from Baltimore.
When it came time to replace the RCA Dome, the Colts were in the midst of the Peyton Manning era. They were winning. Jim Irsay softly threatened to move to Los Angeles if he didn't get a new stadium, and he was able to get the sweetest deal of any NFL owner. Irsay held all the cards, and Mayor Bart Peterson knew it. Even with the new deal to keep the Colts in Indy and Lucas Oil Stadium under construction, Peterson still lost his re-election bid.
@@danieldougan269 So the taxpayers of Indy got hosed for nothing.
I'm proud of then-Mayor Faulkner for refusing to give in to Spanos and of San Diego voters for backing him in doing so.
If voters can't say no because sportsball, then state constitutions should prohibit such hand-outs.
I stayed at a hotel in Largo. While going for a morning jog, I stumbled upon FedEx. Talk about that whole area being in a no-man's land!
Agreed. Largo, which is outside the Capital Beltway, is at least getting a hospital center to open this year in Summer 2021 with a town center adjacent to it, all right by the Metro station. But on the other side of the Beltway, Landover doesn't have much going on. It has 4 Metro stations in its vicinity (Cleverly, Landover, New Carrollton, and Morgan Blvd), but it lacks a walkable environment around them all.
Landover also has a huge vacant lot that was once a mall (Landover Mall, demolished in 2006), and a stadium that probably won't be there after 2027 when the team's lease expires. A bunch of state money was poured into the Beltway interchange where FedEx Field is (Arena Drive), and although that can benefit traffic to Largo, it wasn't exactly anticipated for Largo to be the main draw of that traffic.
The DC area is seeing a bit of a housing crunch, and the Federal govt is eyeing PG County for some departments to relocate out of DC. So I don't think Landover is doomed in the long run. But for the next decade, it'll probably continue to be no-man's land.
91,000 in 2001
76,000 today in OFFICIAL capacity
...but only 65K needed to be called a “sellout”. #Fail
Bad stadium designs of the 1990’s (See Jacksonville, St Louis....even Baltimore isn’t premiere!)
And he nailed it on the poor team/play. Also a mile plus to the nearest metro station?? It’s such a headache!!
The only piece of NFL memorabilia I still own is a t-shirt with "Jack Kent Cooke" stadium.
You couldn't get a ticket to RFK stadium unless someone died. Seriously! Enter Dan Snyder, down the shitter it went. I'll never go back to another game and haven't watched one in half a dozen yrs.
KMA DAN!
One word: Daniel Marc Snyder, the worst owner in the NFL. OK, more than one.
Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengals
Dean Spanos is tied with that if you’re a chargers fan.
Virginia McCaskey of the Chicago Bears
@@bonitaextra6904 yep, destroyed the love SD had for the Chargers by taking them to LA. Can’t even sell out a soccer stadium and now are sharing a stadium with the Rams 😂
@@DDDiego Per the wishes of the NFL. Who weren't happy when the Raiders and Rams left L.A. in '95. The free time L.A. enjoyed on Sunday afternoons now belongs to St. Louis and San Diego.
This video puts too much emphasis on the advent of HDTV as though that’s to blame for people not wanting to go to games in person anymore. It’s not so much that.
It’s that they Can’t AFFORD to go. Too damn expensive these days!
@ Jeff Finkbonner We can thank Jerry Jones for pricing the little guy/ family out of going to a game.
@Nic Lazzari My post was about Jerry Jones. I never mentioned the team at all. Why so nasty toward me? Oh, I see. Gutless coward.
Modern TVs are to blame somewhat, of course there are other factors
As a single person no its not LoL its actually cheap! You sound like you have kids and a wife or something. Then yes it will be expensive paying for 3-4-5 seats and food
@@moneyonfleek305 depends what stadium. I’ve seen nosebleed tickets going for $200+
The idea of a football game not being sold out blows my mind. Living in Green Bay, Lambeau field is packed every single game, regardless of who we’re playing and our record. The wait list for season tickets is ridiculous. They could probably double the seating and it’d still easily sell out.
I think some of it is because the Packers are such a big part of Wisconsin, especially the middle and northern part of the state. Even still tho it boggles my mind that they couldn’t find 91,000 willing to go to a football game while being on the east coast, even if the team was kinda poop.
Ticket cost
@@Kampy_ tickets are expensive everywhere. If anything prices will be cheaper if no one wants to go.
@@johnmoore1495 its not the ticket price, its not even that the team is mediocre/bad. The Browns have been awful and so was GB for the 70-80s but the fans come. its the feeling that you are being grifted every time you step foot in that stadium to buy a t-shirt/beer etc. it eventually grinds you down. DC FC isn't alone in this. Bad ownership straight up murders a team. As a steeler fan I remember how loud Riverfront stadium in Cincy was and what a tough place to play it the 80s but people are sick of the owner's grift of Cincinatti. Given that you are from Wiscy, a similar comparison is the Pirates and the Brewers. Both have nice ballparks, a similar market size and passionate fanbases. The difference is that the Brewer's owners make an effort to field a successful team and the fans while realizing that yes, the Brewers can't have the Dodgers payroll want to win. The pirates, well they've used advanced metrics to show that they are way more profitable by gutting the squad's payroll and pocketing the revenue sharing money even if only 10K fans show. The owner won't sell, he's making bank on the team (its rumored from leaked documents that the pirates are more profitable than the freaking steelers) its a slow an painful process but eventually the fans realize nothing will ever change and eventually go away.
Win or lose iz not the issue in God's land of Cheese. We BACK our PACK, JACK! So take dat, you owner FAT-CAT! Go PACK Go! ( Which iz an oxymoron. Since they'll always stay)
Helps to go from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. 20+ years of revolving doors of quarterbacks and I am not sure Green Bay would still remain full.
“Redskins won’t win in the foreseeable future”
2020 NFC East Champions
It’s Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Not Jack Kent. Do you even know who Jack Kent Cooke was?
The stadium was designed after the old Giants Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium.
The original capacity was 78000. Not over 80. Given the fact that the Redskins sold out 55k RFK and had a 20k plus waiting list, it was a sound decision for the size for the stadium.
There were empty seats from the beginning in the yellow middle section, I know because I was a season ticket holder for the first five years of the stadium. That area is the club seat section and the pricing was insane even back in 1997, let alone today.
Another issue present from the start was awful traffic on game day, in particular leaving the stadium after a game. If a 1pm game ends at 4, you could expect to get home at 6pm if you’re lucky.
Another is lack of public transportation nearby and lastly nothing to do around there other than going to the game itself so you either just hang out at the stadium surrounded by drunks or you sit in gridlock.
But the stadium is there after negotiations with the city fell apart and another location in northern Virginia met opposition. It was not a first, second or even third choice location.
Jack Kent Cooke became desperate to find a spot to break ground after running into brick walls with his preferred locations for the first 5 years of the 90s.
He then had the construction done in record time yet still passed away before it opened. Due to short time table of construction, the stadium wasn’t even finished when it did open. The area behind the club seats were still all open air.
Funny thing is, as Danny expanded seemingly every year during the first half of the 2000s, the attendance did support it. The new seats were being filled. It’s always been the stupid insane priced club seats and boxes that were problems in selling that left ugly yellow spots visible on the tv shots (Danny has tried to hide them by peppering burgundy seats in there in recent years it appears)
But you are right about the state of attendance now. Fans have become numb to Danny’s mismanagement and the interest in going out to the stadium is at an all time low. But that does not mean FedEx is or ever was “oversized”. It is overpriced. It is in a terrible location. Your points about the modern home watching experience are valid but only because of how expensive it is to go to a game and the game day experience. Not the size of this stadium.
I think going out for entertainment, be it films or sports, is dying in general anyway.
I would expect the eventual new stadium to be about 65k in size (maybe 70) but will continue to be super expensive and thus filling it will be a chore once the novelty wears off and if the Football Team continues to toil in the bottom 4th of the league.
Great information, but I don’t think you can really count this 2020 season as “winning.” Yes, they won the NFC East... but seriously?
A college team could have won that pathetic division this year. Somebody had to win. The 6-10 Giants could have done it. They won by default; they sucked slightly less.
Well people still go to the movies, since many new, long anticipated films still make good money, not counting when COVID put a huge dent into that. Doing that is still a nice event to see movies on those large theater screens, with many other spectators watching what you are with them, while being the first to see films before they become available on home media. Plus that's something you can easily do with a family of at least four (or more) without having to spend literally an entire paycheck on, like you almost have to do when attending a major league sporting event these days for that matter as well.
I don't think it's oversized. The problem is a testament to the chronic mismanagement of the team during the Snyder era. They have made many terrible decisions with free agents and personnel in general. According to people in the area, there are no convenient links to mass transit and parking is expensive. Also, include costly concessions and it is not a fan-friendly experience to go there.
Maybe $20 for a beer and a hotdog contributes.
It's one thing to get hungry and have to pluck down good, hard earned, money to satisfy your hunger while watching savages rip each other apart. I get that would make anybody hunger to throw garbage down their throats. But then to have to see sideline slop in the form of primitive, political poop written for us to mentally ingest and have to put up with their constant primitive political poop in our ears is asking a bit too much.
The parking and traffic are also a major factor in why this stadium is hated in this region.
We saw Paul McCartney there about ten years ago. It was a really poor experience. Parking was outrageous and there were no busses or underground that served the stadium.
And Paul McCartney is a clone
What knocks out tourists.
I don't understand how a city lets something like this be built without considering traffic. It's insane.
Who did he play for?
@@edlutz7218 The Beatles band
Hey forgotten places, do one on RFK!
This is so depressing. Snyder destroyed a great franchise. HTTR RIP
They suck regardless
@@davidlucasmachado2831 Division champs with the worst QB play in the league. lol. Every team in that division is God awful.
@@brandondillman5841 but has the most championships
@@yakamarezlife so that was the past they were good but not anymore I’m talking about the cowboys btw
I don't think FedEx really ever had any "glory days." LOL. RFK? Yes, absolutely. Glory days galore and a very tough ticket. But in the nearly 25 years of FedEx, there have been no deep playoff runs.
Watching games on tv is so much better than it used to be plus the beer is way cheaper.
NASCAR too
I think Dan Snyder also relied too heavily on the history of Washington fans to remain loyal to the team in some of his decision making. As a Washington native, I can honestly say that the fans here still love the team, but are displeased with the owner. All those other factors aside, if Snyder or whoever the owners are starts to reconnect with the fans, the attendance rate will skyrocket.
What do you say is true, however, it all depends on what age group because those in the over 40 and over 50 crowd still very much love this team, however those in the under 40 crowd like myself and those in the under 30 crowd could care less(even those of us who are fans)
I grew up in the area (Landover) and the location of EVERYTHING in that area is shit. The middle/elementary school down the street was a pain to get too, NO METRO or bus that takes you straight there; (closest station is Morgan Blvd and it’s a twenty minute walk from there) and to top it all off; THE TEAM IS ASS.
Edit: And don’t get me started on the damn Sunday traffic coming from the Beltway, Largo Town Center and Jericho Church (that blue building in the background)
You forgot to mention the Ravens moved to downtown Bmore, right off 95. For some people it was closer to go there.
@Enmity the Kindhearted Not so much, actually...
@Enmity the Kindhearted which football team?
@@mattcox3373 washington rks
@@mattcox3373 the Redskins
M&T Bank Stadium was PSINet Stadium - the Ravens moved nowhere. (PSINet Stadium was built next to Oriole Park on purpose - a deliberate siting decision; the pair is also fed by Interstate 395 - which comes directly off Interstate 95. The entire Camden Yards complex is also also a hop/skip/jump from the Inner Harbor and Harborplace - and is fed by three different mass transit systems - MARC's Camden Line and light rail and the MTA. All of that was not available to Cooke. (I don't hate PSINet Stadium - or the Ravens, for that matter - in an ear, I pointed out that I have actually been there for a game (preseason) - I had been to JKC for a Redskins preseason game the previous year.
Damn, I never realized RFK was literally right down the street from the US Capitol. It would be a great site for a modern NFL stadium that would also be a great place to host the Army-Navy game.
I remember in about year 1999, when more seating was added to this stadium. It was joked that these newly added seats were far behind the 'real seating', out back, and behind the upper deck.
It was actually called Jack Kent Cooke stadium originally
The Football Team will rise again 🔥
You mean the Redskins?
When did they ever? They've only existed for 1 year
awww little danny is losing fans/ sob boohoo. couldn't happen to a nicer dir bag!
If Diaper Dan Douchebag keeps hordin all dat hair color, I won'ts be able to get's none when I needs it. Michael Duncan sez "He a BAD MAN", Boss.
I wonder how much "The Washington Football Team" debacle has cost them?
They need to return the name back to the team.
why take out seats and not just close off sections or upper deck until actually needed?
Only thing I can think of is so that it doesn’t look as empty on tv
From that area
The team not playing good didn't help
Being trash on primetime didn't help
Sitting in traffic before and after the game didn't help
Not having real public transportation to get there doesn't help (I have taken long walks to two sides of the stadium to get there)
My idea was knock down RFK and put a new stadium there one problem DC doesn't even want them back
To be fair they dont have anywhere to put them besides where rfk is and thats going to be another soccer stadium
Very true. In my opinion they are going to either renovate FedEx field or build right across from it. Dan hasn’t helped himself with a side of the mediocre to shit team on the field to the lawsuits with his minority owners and the sexual-harassment stuff
Yeah, putting this in _Forgotten Places._ This is the one people only _wish_ they could forget.
They finna add them seats back, the Football team is playing very good
A Washington Post sports writer, upon the opening of Fedex Field, commented that the structure, as seen from the outside, "looks like a spaceship from a dull planet".
Don’t stress y’all, Ron Rivera bout to bring with him a new golden era of Washington football
a high school team could win the nfc east
Snyder has to go
@@WaveManMike why?
... right... lol. Best of luck fam.
@@renlysotherlover294 dude has to be one of worst nfl owners. look up his name
I had season tickets for the Redskins for years. It was always a miserable game day experience.
Very Good!..
I’ve lived in the neighborhood right behind the stadium my whole life and believe me we don’t want the stadium here either. Out of towners park in our reserved spots and litter in our yards
Never been but is it really better than watching at home sitting in that upper deck?
It was when it was new and every single seat had a butt in it.
@@gpturner0924 I could see that. Loud fans and an atmosphere as opposed to chasing rabbit ears around all afternoon.
I sat in the top of the upper deck for a game there as a kid back in 2006 I think. I would have had a better view sitting on the moon.
The SCCA actually uses its parking lots for autocross sometimes, pretty good use for its empty lots when theres no games.
Redbird Arena (Illinois State University) has a capacity over 10,000 and I have seen it halfway full once
I wonder if all giant stadiums, post pandemic, will be dramatically reduced? Just like airlines, it is better to have a packed facility, and then you can charge more per ticket, then high capacity?
The more economical solution would have been to lower ticket prices so that families can afford to go to the games. There is still great enthusiasm for football in America. They just need to lower the ticket prices and compete with HD television.
I once heard that Redskin tickets were one of the hardest to get. That the waiting list for season tickets was longer than the waiting list for the Green Bay Packers. Now the team struggles to sell out games? What the Redskins, I mean the Washington Football Team, needs is a new owner.
The Redskins waiting list was somewhat lore, fueled by the limited capacity of RFK. In the Spurrier era, or maybe Gibbs 2.0, fan dissatisfaction was starting to take hold. Fans were declining the tickets that they had waited so long to get. Thinking they had forfeited their spots for many years, fans were surprised to learn that they were receiving ticket notifications the very next year. Either the list was easily burned through when JKC opened, it wasn't as large as advertised, or everyone on it was passing up their turn. None are favorable to the team.
I got lost getting out of there, all the gates look the same I was walking in circles in a bad neighborhood
It was originally called Jack Kent Cooke Stadium
> 0:40
End zone seats 2 feet from the end zone. Brilliant design.
My question is why did they remove seats? To make it seem less emptier?
I blame the former great owner, Jack Kent Cooke,who decided not to leave ownership of the team with his family, for the debacle we’re currently in. He alone opened this Pandora’s box and the now Danny Show. Proofing that it takes more than wealth to really be rich!
They made the playoffs this year though...
With a QB with one leg, and couldn't play in the playoffs.
Greed took its toll . We as fans would love to be at the stadium. But after 30 bucks for parking, 18 bucks for a 10 ounce beer, 150 dollars for the cheap seats ect . . You guys priced us out . You also confiscated our food so we must buy your way overpriced food . Not in most people’s budget . We will watch it at home no matter what the quality of our TV is .
While I have occasionally been to all the professional sports venues, I realized it not worth it. Travel, parking, weather, cost, food, etc... Its just a pain. Watching it at home, even before HDTV, was a better experience. PVRs and the eventual rise of HDTV cemented it for me. I would not go to a stadium again.
Only 17 years and they wanted a new stadium? Meanwhile, Oakland cant get a second stadium after almost 60 years lol
Well at least the raiders now have a fancy new stadium to call their own.........in an entirely different state
@@wilderac2250 the redskins don’t even play in D.C lol
Oh yeah I meant football team
1997 was not 17 years ago
@@Megalodon987 you misunderstood my comment, by 2014 they wanted a new stadium, 17 years after getting their current one!
@@joseangelmejia9647 isn’t the normal timeframe for a stadium 20 years? At least one like FedEx Field because these new stadiums like Sofi and Allegiant seem like they can stand the test of time!
I know FedEx is bigger but when the Redskins left RFK they left behind one of the best home field advantages in the league, Every team that plays Washington at FedEx now is another home game for them.
It's going to be like that from now and into the future and even when they move back to the new RFK because, the DMV is now a transient area.
@@C-Thunder True, I know countless Eagles, Cowboys and Giants fans as well as other NFC opponents and they show up in droves.
wow this is kind of a horrible overview. You didnt even mention the fact that they moved the stadium from DC to a part of MD that at the time didnt have great infrastructure or good access to the metro like RFK did along with some other logistical problems. parking sucked, traffic sucked and people didnt wanna go through all that either.
Football being football though, had Daniel Snyder cared about putting good football teams on the field, they probably wouldn’t have torn up part of the stadium, and fenced/tarped off more of it, and the location would be an afterthought rather than one of the big negatives.
What is going on with the process of finding a new name? Are fans going to get to suggest names like with the Toronto Blue Jays? Are they going to be given a short list of names to vote on?
One guy owns alot of the names it going to be hard to get one that somebody doesnt already have a trademark for
The Redskins
@@yakamarezlife the guy that already has these names has said that he would be willing to release said name if the WFT wants one of them.
A dude bought and copyrited about ten names probably trying to profit off of Diaper Dan Douchebag for using one of them.
@@yakamarezlife You have to use a trademark or you lose it.
It's funny the old joint that they played at, RFK, was incredibly undersized, but was a great stadium. I really hope they rename the current joint to to Cooke Stadium or Gibbs Field. Y'all Skins/WFT fans need a name change of the Stadium to forget the horrid Snyder era.
So.....the stadium is still in good shape and not that old, but they want a new one because nobody goes to Washington games anymore because of how bad the team has gotten? Maybe it's over my head but this makes no sense to me at all. Yes, it looks bad when 1/4 of the stands are empty. How about lowering ticket prices to bring fans back while the team rebuilds. Imagine if they do get a new, smaller stadium and then get good again and need more seats, then what?
Actually, the stadium is NOT still in decent condition. The massive expansions done in the early years were done without reinforcing the structure, because Snyder is such a cheapskate, so the weight of the extra seats, along with sellout crowds jumping around and cheering, has done a number on the building. There are some pretty deep, concerning cracks in the concrete frame of the stadium. So a new stadium is actually pretty necessary...
Maybe all that new Twitter Fans of the Wokeshington Football Team buy some tickets 😂🤣
POV: you’re here after the railing collapsed near jalen hurts
If NFL teams want new stadiums then they should pay 100% of the cost.
to not even mention how terrible the fan experience before, during and after the game is ignoring the biggest problem! not much research went into this video!
This isnt a review, it is simply a story about the stadium and how it was oversized with some background...
@@forgottenplaces9780 But one of the reasons its oversized is because not one person who has ever been to a game there has ever said its a good experience. it was not oversized in the early 2000s when the team stunk and fans kept showing up and selling out the place. it took about 10 years for the people of the dmv to realize ill have a better experience win, lose or draw at home rather then going to joint that takes an hour to get too from anywhere in dc
@@patrickgrant3458 yes but in the early 2000s the team had not been bad for 20 years and the stadium was still relatively new plus attendance for live sports in general was higher back then due to tv quality and other factors 90k for a stadium was ambitious even back then in the nfl when other teams were building 70-75k stadiums the packers have had a 30 yr waiting list and much more winning and they never expanded lambeau to those numbers most new stadiums are being built and rennovated to smaller capacities today and they had fairly smaller stadiums by capacity to begin with
@@patrickgrant3458 I am going to denounce your statement right now. There is at least one fan who had great experiences there. I have fond memories of my dad taking me to games there. The fan experience was phenomenal in the early years. The extra entertainment offered around the venue pre-game and post-game was awesome, there were a number of superfans who eventually got officially licensed by the team and FedEx who were at EVERY game and made commercials for local businesses, and the hogs hosted a tailgate party every single home game. Because the bowl was an enclosed ring, the acoustics were great for concerts and fan noise stayed inside the stadium, making it one of the loudest places to watch a game, when it's filled with home fans. If Jack Kent Cooke had handed the team down to one of his kids and not sold it to Danny boy, it would still be a good stadium and a fun place to watch a game.
Forgot to mention the Ravens entering the NFL in 1996. Baltimore/DC Metro Area population is more or less 10 million, and the two cities already "share" an MLS, NHL and NBA team, and at the time, an MLB team too (Nats didn't come until after 2000). The Ravens entering the league, and having immediate success, almost certainly caused a decrease in attendance too. When the metro area shared one team, *and* the team was good (2/3 Super Bowls were won when Baltimore didn't have a team), it easily filled up 91,000. Unfortunately, though, times have changed and now we need a covered stadium so we can also use it for Final Fours and Superbowls to bring in more revenue
I doubt we’ll get a covered stadium because yes it’s cold here in Maryland and we get snow it’s not a necessity like Minnesota or Indianapolis and M&T, Bills Stadium, and MetLife don’t have roofs.
@@shonhenderson4227 Atlanta, LA, Houston, Minnesota all got new stadiums in the past few years, and they're all covered. Real Madrid is redoing their stadium to put a roof over it. A general wave in stadium construction right now is a roofed stadium, so no weather (weather is be hot, cold, snow, rain, etc) delays games, but also so they can host larger events. A covered stadium in DC will let us host the Super Bowl and Final Fours, which will help draw taxpayer support because then the stadium is more versatile.
@@anthonyliberatori that’s true that’s the next wave in stadiums at first it was cookie cutters like RFK was the first one so 2 sports can be played. Then the next wave was I don’t know just the biggest and most modern. Now it’s like currently the same but just adding roofs.
Hahahaha... not quite. I lived in Baltimore from the late 80s to early 90s and I can assure you those folks didn’t give a rip about the Redskins or the NFL after the Colts skipped town. They even supported the CFL Baltimore Stallions like crazy because they craved their own team much more than settling to cheer for Washington.
I’ve attended more than my share of Ravens and Redskins games in the last 30 years at Memorial Stadium and M&T in B-more to RFK and JCK/FedEx for the Skins and here’s the best thing about FedEx: You could pull off the day/night doubleheader, especially if the Ravens had the early game.
But but but ... FedEx is a logistical nightmare to get out of whether you drove or took the Metro. Park in the wrong place for a night game and you might not even get out of the parking lot until 1AM. It sucked hard.
The biggest problem with FedEx is that the expansions made it hard to keep the home field advantage, especially in division. Sometimes the intradivision banter was fun (especially with the Philly fans, for some reason) but around 2010 the in-stadium experience had started to deteriorate at FedEx and in Baltimore as well- mostly due to the fans. I just came to watch the game, man.
So it’s not surprising that big stadiums and the WFT are failing when you combine astronomical ticket prices, terrible ownership, a bad product on the field and, yes, even high-def TV broadcasts on affordable big screens. The whole publicly financed stadium model has to be rethought, especially when you factor in the influence of the pandemic on large gatherings.
TL;DR: FedEx was at least good for day/night NFL doubleheaders. So it had that going for it, which was nice.
Ravens maybe took some fans between the beltways but I don't think its substancial. Its kinda amazing tho. I remember when Balt won their 1st SB, everybody was like yea, that's nice but it was still Orioles-town. Today its totally flipped. The ravens just took all the oxygen from the Orioles. Shows you what bad and good management will do.
Ticket prices are through the roof. I go to about 1 game a season I’m a packers fan from New York never been to Lambeau but have been to MetLife to see the Packers multiple times. It’s a lot of money between the tickets, parking and food. Even if you get food a head of time and tailgate it is still a lot and a pain in the ass to cook in a parking lot. Besides a few stadiums there aren’t many I’d want to go to just to be at that stadium. Baseball however the stadiums have a lot more character so it is more of an attraction. I enjoy going to games but it is very tough it is an all day commitment whereas a baseball or hockey game I can do whatever during the day and show up 30 minutes before the baseball game and it doesn’t impact the rest of my day.
It was actually called jack kent cooke stadium
> 0:40
To be fair @3:33 the stadium is empty due to a blizzard that was happening and road conditions weren’t safe. Yeah the team sucked as well but it’s more to it than that. I remember about 10 minutes before kickoff people were selling dream seat tickets (front row all inclusive) for under 10$.
I’d like to recommend a video on Chase Field in AZ which is certainly an oversized baseball stadium.
Maybe if they lowered prices on everything people would start coming to games again.
It takes just as long to park and leave as the game does from start to finish, not to mention the 2 games I’ve been to were half filled with the away team
Yesss it’z about time for da Washington Football Team 2 get an new venue. I like da new stadium design!!! There new name should be da Washington Warriorz!!!
That guy bought up all the copyrites to quite a few,(about 10) names probably thinking he could make a fortune off of Diaper Dan Douche Bag. Warriors was one of them.
Have grown up going to Washington football games at this stadium and it is quite the dump. Location makes no sense, gameday costs like parking, food and beers are ridiculously overpriced, and no matter what team we are playing their fan base always seems to be big and loud at the stadium... oh and the team sucks. I was at that infamous chiefs game you showed at the end it was miserable
Truth. I was at that game to
the traffic getting out there, expensive parking, expensive food, expensive tickets, + terrible play & management = fans not showing up
In honor of past Super Bowl glory, I will refer to the District’s NFL team as the Washington Hogs.
The thing is an exact design of the now closed Giant stadium east Rutherford New Jersey.
That use to be a farm area. I lived around there when I was a kid
Like the Wash. Cathedral, they were looking for an "Elevated" place to build so as too be seen from as many points of view as possible. I guess it's sort of an ego thing, I'm sure.
Went to one game here..made the mistake of parking early in the stadium lot..After walking around for an hr after the game, it still took 3..THREE..hrs to get out of lot..Nobody flagging traffic and it was a funell to exit..no one would let each other out..horrible
We have a music venue outside of cleveland called blossom music center where there is only 2 ways out and the road out is a one lane rd… Its the worst takes forever to get in or out people even were suing the venue for not getting into concerts on time this yr lol, i know your pain…
why remove the seats? did they have to pay a tax to government or fee to NFL based on total capacity?
The NFL wants sellouts to air local games instead of blacking outs.
Why just partition them off and not make them for sale? (I am asking this of the NFL). It’s not like the NFL ever pays for a stadium, so they have nothing at stake for a venue that has excess capacity.
Just wondering out loud here whether games in Los Angeles were on local TV, as selling out the Coliseum for the Rams or the Raiders would be a miracle. Maybe that’s why the Rams started playing at Anaheim?
Not a WFT fan but the stadium isn't the issue. If the team start winning the fans will return. The relocation talk is due to accessibility of the stadium/parking and a lot of fans want the team back in DC
2022 this stadium will be 25 years old. Redskins haven't been doing as well since they moved from RFK to FedEx field. Could it be the curse of Dan Synder? The team is looking for to build a new stadium
i will say this as a football team fan. a lot of people dont show up when were bad but in big games and playoff games its one of the best atmospheres
Nice try 👍
shouldve just kept using rfk longer.
It was called Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. I still have my Ticket to the very 1st game against the Cardinals. Rod Garner caught the game winning touchdown
The stadium was built outside of Washington DC and built in Maryland to spite the newly moved Ravens. But mostly the problem with the stadium is the owner who has not kept up with maintenance and who puts a lousy product on the field causing fans to turn their backs on the team. Also from what I hear public transit is almost nonexistent and traffic is awful.
For future stadium episodes, I know Veteran Memorial Stadium in Philly, the Eagles old home.
The funny part about 2:44 is neither Trent Williams plays for the team nor do they keep the Name the Washington Redskins
We like the Redskins
I used to go to games as a kid. In complete honesty, this is the worst stadium in the DMV
Others have mentioned key things, like no public transit, too many loses, etc. Another is that the stadium was built as cheaply as possible. Jack Kent Cook was a frugal businessman, the stadium was built quick and dirty. It has a lot of poor sightlines, seats that have mediocre views of the field, seats that are too far from the field, stairs that are way too steep for comfortable walking. And the highest seats are a very long way from the parking level. Access from the parking lots to the highways is terrible, it takes hours to get out of the lots after a game.
When it was put in Landover, Maryland that was a mistake. The stadium should be right in D.C. That might be another reason for poor attendance at the games because people don’t want to drive to Landover from Washington D.C.