D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) kicked off the Commonwealth-bashing at a press conference at city hall. He referenced a photo-shopped picture of the proposed stadium that circulated last week when the team was in talks with officials in Loudoun County. In the picture, the proposed $287-million D.C. stadium was plopped down in pastoral farm land.
Mendelson on Tuesday turned to a six-foot-wide drawing of the stadium positioned amid a bustling streetscape, south of an illuminated U.S. Capitol building and near Nationals Park.
“That looks a lot nicer than the picture of the same stadium I saw tweeted in a corn field in Iowa or something, much nicer,” Mendelson said.
The remark drew a burst of laughter from D.C. Council members and Bowser. It drew more of a smirk from the District’s lead negotiator on the deal, Deputy Mayor Brian Kenner, an Iowa native. (Kenner later grabbed the mic and defended his home state).
“It certainly doesn’t look like Loudoun County,” chimed in D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2).
Bowser continued the assault.
Asked if she had learned any lessons from the experience, Bowser used the moment to make a plug for others to choose D.C. over Maryland and Virginia.
“I had this conversation with myself this morning,” Bowser began, “how lucky I am to be” mayor of D.C.
“When businesses, when people, when families are thinking about where they can locate in this region, more and more they are going to choose the District of Columbia,” she said.
“We are making our business environment more favorable, we have a vibrant nightlife we are investing in our infrastructure. And there is a reason why people are calling us the coolest city, so we are going to continue to be out and the first choice of businesses around this region.”
The digs at northern Virginia and some of the most affluent counties in the country may not sit well with everyone, especially considering that businesses routinely complain about the complexity of regulations in doing business in the District.
That was exactly the retort that a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) offered when told of the fun that was had at the commonwealth’s expense across the Potomac River.
“Virginia: Come for the corn, stay for the low taxes, world-class public schools and 4.8% unemployment rate,” McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy wrote in an email.
Bowser’s slow progress on the stadium deal in her first months in office created an opening for Virginia to try to coax the team to reconsider the stadium deal approved by the council last year.
After the team’s discussions with McAuliffe and Loudoun County officials became public last week, Bowser’s office hastened negotiations with the team.
In a statement on Monday, Coy suggested the governor’s office didn’t regret the attempt. “We go after every deal. Some work out, some don’t,” Coy said. “The governor believes if there are jobs to create, investment to bring back to Virginia, you can’t win unless you’re on the field.”
With D.C. United vacating RFK Stadium, Evans said the next trick would be to bring the Redskins back to the city. If it does, he said, D.C. would join only Chicago and Denver with five professional sports inside the city’s boundaries.
Bowser said Tuesday that the deal with D.C. United might provide a concept for a future agreement with the Redskins. Virginia is also courting the team.
“Let it be clear that D.C. is the sports capital,” Bowser said, “and we’re the home of D.C. United, so Vamos United.”