OPINION:
When the Washington Commanders and District Mayor Muriel Bowser had their press conference last week to announce the proposed $3.8 billion stadium deal, you might have heard some cheers coming from up I-95 in Baltimore.
They may have been faint — no balloons or dancing girls — but it was welcomed news in the offices of the Baltimore Ravens, who have never been crazy about sharing the state with the Washington franchise and feeding from the same public trough when needed.
The Commanders’ return to the District was welcome news, even if the deal still needs approval from the D.C. Council and maybe even the city’s voters.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was in talks to keep the Commanders in Landover with a deal that would have involved public funds, but both the Ravens and the Orioles had already squeezed $600 million each out of the state in recent years for stadium renovations.
Another NFL team in Maryland represents competition the Ravens don’t need when it comes to state business.
“It complicated the politics,” one Ravens source told me.
It was politics that led to a remarkable year in Maryland sports in 1996, when the state went from zero NFL franchises to two. The Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and Washington owner Jack Kent Cooke wanted to move his team from RFK Stadium in the District to a piece of property off the Beltway in Landover.
That year, the state Legislature approved $200 million for the Ravens stadium construction, but to get approval for money for the Baltimore stadium from Prince George’s County legislators, then-Gov. Parris Glendening had to support the $60 million in state funding for infrastructure for Cooke’s Landover stadium, where his team would begin playing in 1997.
Just like that, Maryland had two football teams — one more than Glendening would have preferred. Three years ago, the former governor told WUSA 9 that he knew the stadium in Landover “was more likely to be a disaster.”
Turns out he was right.
The Commanders’ exit may also empower the Ravens in their battle with Washington over marketing rights in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Sports Business Journal reported that the Ravens are in a dispute with the Commanders over doing business — selling sponsorships and other marketing tools — in those counties, which have been exclusive to the Commanders. A move out of Prince George’s to the District could weaken the Commanders’ position.
But it’s not all good news for the Ravens. The NFL announced Monday that the District will host the 2027 draft, which has become a prized event for cities. It’s drawn huge crowds in Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas and Nashville and reportedly drew 600,000 fans last month in Green Bay. The decision is clearly part of a campaign to garner public support in Washington for the stadium, which would require at least $1.1 billion in public funding.
The Ravens had also hoped to host the draft in Baltimore. “We’re very interested in trying to convince the league that Baltimore is going to be the best site for the draft of all time,” team President Sasha Brown said in March.
It’s difficult to see the NFL allowing the draft to be hosted anytime in the future so close to another hosting city.
Finally, the Ravens weren’t thrilled when Josh Harris and his fellow saviors purchased the team from Dan Snyder in July 2023.
“For years, businesses were knocking on the door in Baltimore that normally would’ve went to Washington and didn’t want to have anything to do with Dan Snyder,” the Ravens source said. “It got so bad that Snyder actually went to the commissioner and complained that the Ravens were stealing clients. That wasn’t the case. They just didn’t want to do business with Snyder.”
The Ravens weren’t the only ones who reaped the rewards of Snyder’s toxic ownership. Other local teams — Capitals, Wizards and Nationals — enjoyed the benefits of two decades of the poisonous atmosphere the NFL franchise in Washington created for itself.
Those days are gone.
Now the nation’s capital wants to help build a palace for the football team. In Baltimore, they’re waving adios.
• Catch Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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