Marty Gordon
The city of Richmond says the Washington Redskins are costing them too much money to hold their training camp in the city. I wonder if city leaders have closely looked at its tourism value over the past four years?
The contract with the NFL team is set to run out in two years, close to the same time the Houston Texans contract at the nearby Greenbrier in West Virginia ends. The Texans say they love the location but are barely spending two weeks at the site this summer.
If you look at the fan base, the ideal situation is for the Greenbrier to begin negotiations with the Redskins. Go west and hold your training camp at the Greenbrier.
A Richmond council member called the training camp a major drag on the city.
“That’s something that a city like Richmond, who has a very high poverty rate, just can’t afford to be providing these luxuries to professional teams when we’ve got to focus on some of our core,” Parker Agelasto said.
The Skins have an option to stay in Richmond for another eight years, but why stay somewhere you’re not wanted?
It just makes more since to bring the team to the resort and double the visitation to the West Virginia site.
Yes, we’re only talking four to six weeks but think of the money it would pump into a small community. The tourism dollars for the Skins should be much higher than the Texans and would be better appreciated in the pocket book. Skins from throughout southwest Virginia would flock to the small community.
The Greenbrier is the perfect location for the training camp. First there was the Saints, then the Texans and now the Redskins. I can remember going to Skins camps as a youngster when it was held in a very small town in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The atmosphere was incredible.
Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, would love to take away Richmond’s burden. Richmond, sorry for your luck. We would hate to see your city go belly up because of the money spent on the Redskins.
Other news
Virginia Tech has gained a men’s basketball recruit for this season. 6’4, 180 Isaiah Wilkins from Winston-Salem, North Carolina has announced plans to join the Hokies. He said initially he would attend Hargrave Military Academy but changed his mind after visiting Blacksburg.
Wilkin averaged 22.2 points a game at Mt. Tabor High School and also had an offer from Wake Forest.
Virginia Tech’s Pete D’Amour has landed his first big recruit for the softball team. Stacy Kalt from Arizona has inked with the Hokies. She helped her team to a state title this past year while hitting .447 with 11 doubles, eight homeruns and 44 RBIs and is expected to play shortstop or third base in Blacksburg.
