The city council passed a resolution in March warning the team the city's annual contribution must endGETTY IMAGES
Richmond city officials said that hosting the Redskins every summer for training camp "is a luxury" that the cash-strapped city "simply can't afford," according to Matthew Paras of the WASHINGTON TIMES. There are two years left on the team's deal to train there, and Richmond City Council Member Parker Agelasto said it is a "major drag on the city" financially. City leaders said that if the Redskins "want to stay ... it's time for the team to start paying its fair share." A Richmond city auditor report overestimated the revenue that the city "expected to reap from selling sponsorships, collecting fees and earning rental income from unused space" in the building constructed for the Redskins' training camp. The projected income five years in "fell short" by between $4.6-6.7M. For the next 15 years, Richmond is "on the hook" for $750,000 a year to repay the $10M loan used to build the Bon Secours Training Center. Under the original agreement, the Redskins "got the use of the new multimillion-dollar training facility and a guaranteed annual credit' worth $500,000 in goods, services or cash." Redskins President Bruce Allen said that the agreement has been a "financial windfall" for Richmond. Allen: "If you look and talk about the economics of the deal, it's been a great asset for the city." The Richmond city council "passed a resolution in March warning the Redskins that the city's annual financial contribution must end if the contract is to be renewed" in '20. Both sides met in May to "discuss an extension," but the Redskins are in "no hurry to renegotiate" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/1).
