Choosing your investments wisely: Dan Snyder and the Redskins football team or transit? You decide.

From "Business Benefits of Transportation Services," in the Commuter Page blog.

Right now in the Greater Greater Washington blog there is a discussion on the foolish idea to give away the store to bring the Washington Redskins back to the city, in ""Excitement" not worth $1B stadium." (I have written about this issue quite a bit in the past, e.g., see "Asking the wrong question #1.")

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND NECESSARY INVESTMENT THAT THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CAN MAKE IS IN TRANSPORTATION-TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE, SPECIFICALLY THE CREATION OF THE SEPARATED BLUE LINE SUBWAY SYSTEM AND SURFACE FIXED RAIL TRANSIT, A/K/A STREETCARS.


Separated blue line subway proposal, 2001. (Washington Post graphic.)


DC Transit Alternatives Analysis, 2005. Note that the Streetcar Map in the Transportation Element of the DC Comprehensive Land Use Plan cut four lines from this map.

NOTHING ELSE IS AS IMPORTANT. (Well, the public schools. Fortunately, people think they are being fixed, but they are actually being destroyed. In a few years, I'll be able to say I told you so, not that such makes me feel any better.)

SPENDING MONEY ON SPORTS STADIUMS IS A WASTE OF TIME.

SPENDING MONEY ON TRANSIT EXTENSION IS THE BEST NEIGHBORHOOD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THERE IS.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR LEADERSHIP.

NOT PANDERING ON RIDICULOUS STUPID THINGS LIKE GUYS RUNNING AROUND IN COLORED UNDERWEAR AND SIMILAR STUFF.

AGAIN, NOW IS THE TIME FOR LEADERSHIP. Don't forget that an election is coming up.

Even in the best of economic times, it is a stretch to spend money on sports instead of transit.

These are not the best of economic times. And spending money on sports as economic development is not something that the city can afford, for either soccer or football.
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From "Asking the wrong question #1":

Note that the impact of the Redskins in PG County would be minimal if there weren't a local tax on concessions and ticket sales. According to the Post article ("Md. Weighs Stadium for D.C. United: Study Will Gauge Pr. George's Benefits"), PG County nets $10 million in Redskins-related economic benefit, but 80% comes from the additional tax on concessions and tickets. Even $10 million annually might not be an adequate return on investment in terms of what was expended by the State of Maryland and the County to land this facility.