Interior Secretary opposes name of Washington team, refuses lease renewal for Redskins

The National Park Service won’t grant the District of Columbia a new lease for the site of the Washington NFL team’s old stadium in part because Interior Secretary Sally Jewell opposes the team’s nickname. Jewell reiterated that position during a meeting with Mayor Muriel Bowser, an Interior Department spokeswoman said. Bowser’s administration has been in preliminary talks with the team about moving back to Washington and building a new stadium. The team plays its home games at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., but the team’s lease there expires in 2026. The team previously played at RFK Stadium in Washington. The stadium sits on land owned by the National Park Service that is leased to the city...more

I hope you noticed that little part that says RFK stadium sits on land owned by the National Park Service.  I recently wrote briefly about the Asset Management Program to study federal lands for potential disposal.  The program was run out of the White House and I staffed it for Secretary Watt.  So it was in 1982 that I discovered the NPS owned those lands...I couldn't believe it.  The Park Service owns the land where the Washington Redskins played?  Turns out it had been that way since 1961.  

I figured that property would bring a pretty penny if put up for sale.  But word leaked to the Hill about what that crazy DuBois was considering and Congress hurriedly  passed legislation for a long term lease.  I was told by many they'd never seen a bill pass so fast.