LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
[ Vol. 1, No. 44 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
REDSKINS WATCH:
Stadium Talks Center on Loudoun BY RENSS GREENE Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) last week publicly turned up the heat on his efforts to convince Dan Snyder to build his next Redskins stadium in Virginia, causing a media flurry. If he is successful, it is increasingly clear that Loudoun County will be targeted as the prime location south of the Potomac. Asked to comment on that prospect last week, Loudoun Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) was non-committal, describing the inquiry as “a little premature.” At the first county board meeting after the fuss, Randall said “there was literally a 45-second discussion of the Redskins and every single newspaper picked up on it.” Other county officials say they’re open to a Redskins stadium in Loudoun—if the deal is right. “At this point, I don’t think that anybody knows enough to really talk about whether it makes sense or not, or whether or not it’s a good deal for Loudoun,” said Department of Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer. “I think that’s really what our first step is. We don’t know what the deal is.” Rizer said his office, the frontline of deals like a major corporation moving into the county or a possible stadium, doesn’t talk publicly about any project it’s actively working on. But he did say his staff have talked in generalities. “Right now, we’re just in the very early stages of trying to see what the deal would be,” Rizer said. The deal, if any, would probably not just be a stadium. Rizer and county supervisors have said it would have to be part of a larger development, and that they don’t see much appetite for spending a lot of taxpayer money on a stadium. “It has to be the perfect deal, and I think the Redskins, if they had their pick of locations—I don’t think they would choose to locate this far outside the city,” said Supervisor Ron A. Meyer Jr. (R-Broad Run). “But I still think that there are certainly advantages to them looking into Loudoun.” The Redskins have reportedly hired an architecture firm, a good sign they plan to leave FedEx Field in Landover, MD, when the lease is up in 2027 or even earlier. Snyder has talked about building a new stadium since at least 2014, promising it would have the feel of the Redskins’ former home, RFK stadium in Washington, DC. Meyer’s district includes the most likely sites for a Loudoun stadium, on undeveloped land north of Dulles Airport near the Silver Line’s Loudoun Gateway Metro stop. Talk of building a professional sports stadium in that area isn’t new. In 1988, a group of investors pitched a plan for a complex that would include a domed football-baseball stadium, hotels and 500 condos. ThenRedskins owner Jack Kent Cooke didn’t go for that REDSKINS WATCH >> 7
[ Sept. 8 – 14, 2016 ]
Reacting to allergies
3
‘JUST TRAGIC’
Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Now
A memorial piled high with flowers, cards, and stuffed animals marks the site at Riverside Parkway and Coton Manor Drive where a Lansdowne baby boy was killed in the crosswalk. His mother was pushing him in a stroller.
Community Rallies as They Await Answers in Infant’s Death BY DANIELLE NADLER
I
t’s been more than a week since 5-month-old Tristan Schulz, riding in a stroller pushed by his mother, was hit by a car and killed in a Lansdowne crosswalk. While the community’s support for the family and outrage over the situation has not waned, there are still unanswered questions about what led to the tragedy and what legal actions, if any, will follow. Tristan and his mother were on
a morning walk Aug. 31, crossing Riverside Parkway at the intersection of Coton Manor Drive, when the driver of a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee drove into them. Mindy Schulz was walking in the crosswalk and the white walk symbol was illuminated, according to court documents. A witness told investigators it looked as though the driver was on a cell phone and speeding through the light. As of this newspaper’s deadline, no criminal charges had been made against the driver. Sheriff ’s
Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said Tuesday it would be another few days before a decision was made concerning charges in the case. “Apparently, he didn’t see her,” Sheriff Mike Chapman said on the scene a few hours after the boy and his mother were hit. “As far as accidents go, this is just tragic.”
Shock and Support The baby boy’s death triggered LANSDOWNE >> 38
ECRWSS Postal Customer
Permit #131 Leesburg, VA
PAID
U.S. Postage PRESRT STD