Virginia and Maryland have been rivals for centuries, and they have had various disputes and fights over projects on either side of the Potomac River.
The two states, along with the District of Columbia, are cooperative with several large initiatives, but three upcoming key projects have the Old Dominion and the Old Line State looking to benefit. Here is a look at the three things the DMV neighbors are fighting over.
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Washington Commanders stadium
The Washington Commanders are looking to replace aging FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, with a new facility. The quest has led to a bidding war between Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. While Washington has the upper hand as the team’s namesake, it still has to clear several hurdles before it can contend with the neighboring states.
A reported internal document from the new ownership group of the NFL team said they believed that Virginia would “offer the best incentive package.” The Old Dominion is home to the Commanders’ headquarters and training facility in Ashburn, but the state has never hosted a stadium for the team.
Maryland is the incumbent for the Commanders stadium and appears willing to do what it takes to keep them. Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) expressed a willingness to invest in a new stadium with taxpayer dollars a year after the state approved funds to renovate stadiums in Baltimore.
While the two states duke it out, Washington is also making moves to become the most desirable option. Bipartisan legislation that would allow the land of the former RFK Stadium to be redeveloped was reported favorably out of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, putting the legislation one step closer to being signed into law. The access to the Washington Metro and location on the Anacostia River makes the RFK Stadium site one of the most desirable for the new stadium.
FBI headquarters
The new FBI headquarters location is another battle Virginia and Maryland lawmakers are engaged in, and the federal government is expected to pick a winning site soon.
The three locations being considered by the government to replace the current headquarters in Washington, D.C., include Greenbelt, Maryland, Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia.
Lawmakers from both states have made their case for their state. Those from Maryland say changes to the deciding criteria to lower the emphasis on proximity to the FBI Academy in Virginia has given them a leg up in the competition. The Virginia site’s proximity to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the FBI’s Quantico site still make it a compelling option, even if it is not as emphasized on the criteria scale.
D.C. Metro expansion
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is currently evaluating ways in which is can improve capacity and reliability on the orange, silver, and blue lines of the D.C. Metro, with expansion plans on the table.
Metro has six options, including two options where no new metro rail stations would be built, to help with current congestion issues at the Rosslyn station in Arlington, Virginia. One of the options holds a clear advantage for Virginia commuters, and others would add new areas of connectivity for parts of Maryland near the nation’s capital.
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One of the options would create an express Silver line in Virginia, speeding up the commute for people going from stations west of East Falls Church station to the Ballston station or into Washington, but another option would create new access for an under connected part of Maryland on the metro system, Oxon Hill.
Another of the proposed plans would be to create a blue line loop, going south of Navy Yard-Ballpark station and connecting across the Potomac River to Huntington Station in Virginia. This plan would create three new stations in Maryland.
