Photo courtesy ASM Richmond
The NFL returns this month, but the fresh start for teams will be especially fresh for the Washington Commanders following the team’s sale this summer.
A group led by investor and Chevy Chase, Maryland, native Josh Harris closed the $6.05 billion acquisition in July, taking control of a franchise majority owned by Dan Snyder since 1999 and completely held by the Snyder family since 2021.
This summer also marked the second year that the Commanders held training camp at the OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park in Ashburn, rather than in Richmond, where the team first trained in 2014. The site, now known as the Bon Secours Training Center, most recently hosted the Iron Blossom Festival, a two-day music event, in late August.
When the city’s Economic Development Authority leased the land for 20 years in 2013, leaders such as then-Gov. Bob McDonnell touted the 1,832 jobs and $9.8 million in tax revenue it would bring. Now, however, city taxpayers will continue to pay about $700,000 each year for the deal through 2033.
EDA board chair John Molster told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in July that it was “a little early” to speculate on plans for the site, which now sits near the Science Museum of Virginia and a revitalized Scott’s Addition. Requests for comment sent to the EDA and Mayor Levar Stoney were not returned.
