STERLING, Va. — Not everyone is on the same team when it comes to three proposed sites in Virginia to build a new Washington Commanders stadium.
WUSA9 was first to report the plans Thursday as lawmakers in the Commonwealth moved closer to passing a $1 billion bond package to assist owner Dan Snyder in funding a new location in Northern Virginia for its stadium.
One of the three proposed locations is on the Loudoun Quarries property in Sterling, located along Shaw Road near Route 28. The area is a five minute drive from Dulles International Airport and sits roughly five miles south of the Commanders' headquarters and training facility in Ashburn.
The team inquired about the property as far back as 18 months ago.
Loudoun County Supervisor Sylvia Glass — who oversees Broad Run District where the Loudoun Quarries is located — said she would only be interested in a project that is in line with the strategic and economic goals of the county.
"Such a project would include an alignment with our Comprehensive Plan and our Suburban and Urban Policy Area priorities around Metro developments, and a development that is financially beneficial to our community as we continue to diversify our economy," Glass told WUSA9 in a statement. "[T]he Washington Commanders is a valued existing member of our business community, and I am interested in continuing our longstanding relationship with the [t]eam."
The proposed area is in the same Metro vicinity the county is trying to develop.
The Leesburg Town Council voted to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors to express their disapproval of an NFL stadium in Loudoun County.
WUSA9 has also reached out to the Loudoun Quarries property owner but has not heard back by the time this story was published. A representative for the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce and Loudoun County Economic Development told WUSA9 plans are too early to make a comment.
Residents who live near the proposed site are concerned about increased traffic.
"The traffic is already bad as it is so putting a stadium nearby is just ridiculous to me," resident Jaleesa Robinson said.
"There's already enough traffic on the road as it is," resident Elizabeth Menard added.
For football fans like Joshua Ebreo, a stadium down the road from his home is a convenient and exciting idea.
"I live right down the street so it would be a really cool thing to hop down the street and just stop by the stadium because I love football and I'm a big Washington fan, so it would be cool to have a stadium literally in my backyard," Ebreo said.
Another proposed site is in the small town of Dumfries in Prince William County, roughly 35 miles away from downtown D.C. that easily could take more than an hour of travel during rush hour traffic.
Mayor Derrick Wood said no one from the Commanders organization has been in touch about building a stadium in Dumfries, which has a population of 8,000.
It would be located at Potomac Shores, a development in progress with new construction going up across from the land on which the stadium would be built.
With traffic and transportation being the biggest issues, Wood has been lobbying for two-way rail service to Dumfries. Nonetheless, he believes the stadium would benefit his community.
“One of the promises I made was that I was going to help to make this community a destination place," Wood said. "It's got to be some type of entertainment complex, right? Obviously an entertainment complex is going to bring a lot of people to this area, which is good to be able to capture that money and some of that revenue and some of that tourism dollars."
Wood’s administration has already presided over the closure of a nearby landfill that will be turned into a hotel, gambling and entertainment complex on the side of I-95.
The final proposed plan would be located behind a residential neighborhood on Summit School Road in Woodbridge. It would take exiting I-95 and traveling along Telegraph Road and through commercial and residential streets.
Nearby residents have opposing views as well.
"This place will bring a lot of new people to the stadium for people who don't necessarily go to D.C. ," Woodbridge resident Daniel Griffith said. "Then I think people will come down here too and realize how great this place is."
"I just think this is probably not the best location because I already feel like it's overpopulated here so I think the traffic is absolutely horrible," Shannon Nelson said. "Maybe closer to D.C. or Maryland even though I know there are stadiums out that way, but I don't think it should be out this way."
WUSA9 has reached out to Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin but have not received a response yet.
According to the blueprints reviewed by WUSA9, all three sites would include more than just a 700,000-square-foot, 16-acre stadium.