FedExField
FedExField is an American football stadium located in Landover, Maryland that serves as the home for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL).
They first started to build the stadium on March 13, 1996. The then-Washington Redskins first started playing in the stadium on September 14, 1997. In their first game, they defeated the Arizona Cardinals 19–13 in overtime.[1][2]
The stadium at first didn't have a sponsor and was named Jack Kent Cooke Stadium after Jack Kent Cooke, the team's owner who had recently died before the stadium opened.[3] The stadium would keep this name until 1999. On November 21, 1999, sponsorship naming rights were sold to FedEx in a $205 million, 27-year agreement and the stadium was renamed FedExField.[4] On July 2, 2020, FedEx sent a letter to team owner Dan Snyder and the Redskins. In the letter, they demanded that the team change its name from the offensive Redskins name or they would be pulling their sponsorship of the team and from the stadium after the 2020 NFL season.[5] The team would drop the Redskins name on July 13, 2020.[6]
The stadium has recieved a large amount of criticism. The expensive price of concessions and the neglected conditions of the stadium are common complaints. In a 2020 USA Today poll of best stadiums in the NFL, FedExField was ranked in last place.[7] After a game between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles, fans fell over a barrier that collapsed while trying to greet Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Fans that were there said that only Hurts asked if they were okay and that the stadium staff didn't care, telling them to ”get the fuck off the field”.[8] Jalen Hurts would write a open letter to the team and the NFL, asking that something be done to protect the safety of fans and players and to stop an event like that happening again in the future.[9]
References
change- ↑ "Overtime Victory Rings In the New". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Redskins 19-13 Cardinals (Sep 14, 1997) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "What's in a Stadium Name?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Absolutely, Positively It's Now FedEx Field". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "FedEx tells Washington Redskins in private letter it will remove signage if name isn't changed, per report". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Statement From The Washington Football Team". Washington Commanders. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "All 30 NFL stadiums, ranked: 2022 edition". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Fans deny being offered on-site medical evaluation by Washington Football Team after railing collapse at FedEx Field". ESPN. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Jalen Hurts Writes Letter to the NFL, Washington Football Team About Railing Collapse". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
