Snyder is paying Richmond instead of Richmond paying him.
Two years ago, there was a dispute between the National Football League’s Washington franchise and the city of Richmond, Virginia concerning the franchise’s pre-season training camp future in the city. Team owner Daniel Snyder insisted on being paid $500,000 a year to hold training camp in the city. The city wanted the team to conduct a Richmond portion of the camp after the deal ended in 2020 but not give Snyder a city paycheck. Snyder and city officials signed that deal in 2012 which brought the team to Richmond. The Richmond City Council in May 2018 called for the deal to be changed and they wanted money from Snyder if his business continued to use a facility in the city. Snyder was threatening to leave Richmond after 2020 but in an about face, Snyder is bringing his team back and renting the facility to use between July 27th and July 31st. Snyder is paying $100,000 for the five days usage. The city of Richmond is off the hook. There will be a special Richmond workout on July 31st, as Washington and the other 31 NFL teams have a football celebration day in store. In 2019, the team was in Richmond for 13 practices which is typical for an NFL team not using its own facilities for training camp. Many teams now use home practice facilities to prepare for the season. Richmond officials thought it was a good investment having the NFL team in town because it made people feel good.
It is difficult to gauge just how much money the NFL team did bring to Richmond. The $500,000 given to Snyder would have seemed to wipe out what he spent on hotels, restaurants and the use of the Richmond facility. The old deal was great for Snyder but probably not for Richmond.
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