Daniel Snyder, owner of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, is shopping for a location to build a new stadium to replace FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Last week, Snyder told Maryland lawmakers that he has one condition to keep the team’s home in Maryland—any new stadium must offer sports betting.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Snyder met with Senator Guy J. Guzzone, chairman of the state Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Senate President Bill Ferguson and three other Senate leaders, telling them he will keep his team in the state if he can offer sports betting at any new stadium.
The only problem is that sports betting is still illegal in Maryland, and any expansion of gambling must be through a constitutional amendment voted on by the state’s citizens. Snyder’s bid is meant partly to prompt lawmakers to push through a bill that would put a referendum on this November’s ballot to authorize sports betting, as neighboring states Pennsylvania and Delaware have already done.
There is a competition among Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia to land a new Redskins stadium and the economic benefits that go with it. Among the three, only D.C. has legalized sports betting. Nationals Park, Audi Field, the Entertainment and Sports Arena and Capital One Arena in the District have all been approved for possible sports wagering operations. Capital One Arena, home of the NHL’s Washington Capitals, has already partnered with British bookmaker William Hill to launch a betting complex.
The team’s lease at FedEx Field in Landover runs through 2027.
