The owner of Konterra, a 2,000-acre development site in northern Prince George's County, confirmed yesterday that he is talking with the Redskins about putting an NFL stadium on his property.
Kingdon Gould Jr. also confirmed that he met Friday with Gov. Parris N. Glendening to discuss several of his projects, including the stadium proposal.
Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, who is seeking to build a 78,600-seat stadium in Anne Arundel County next to the Laurel racetrack, is said to be frustrated by delays in securing zoning approval.
Mr. Gould said the Redskins approached him about building at Konterra. After consulting with his family, Mr. Gould said he told the Redskins that it would be possible to build a stadium in the Konterra Town Center, a 488-acre parcel about two miles south of Laurel between Interstate 95 and U.S. 1.
"Whether a stadium can be incorporated into the town center in a well-designed, useful fashion is being examined," Mr. Gould said. "I think it can."
"However, whether this is a more appropriate place in the judgment of critical public officials is not for me to say," he said.
Mr. Cooke could not be reached for comment. Gerard E. Evans, a lawyer lobbying for the Redskins, said the team is looking at other sites.
"They'd be foolish not to have contingency plans," he said.
Konterra is among alternative sites that also include the USAir Arena in Landover and Port America on the Potomac River, south of Washington, Mr. Evans said.
The Redskins were to make their case for building at Laurel Park before the Anne Arundel County Board of Appeals on March 28.
However, the Redskins asked for, and received, a two-month postponement so that they could conduct additional traffic studies and lobby the Anne Arundel County Council for legislation that would make the appeal unnecessary, Mr. Evans said.
Mr. Gould said the stadium came up in his meeting with Mr. Glendening in the context of a larger discussion of the Konterra development.
"We feel the town center at Konterra could be altered for a stadium," Mr. Gould said. "But there's no commitment to do so. There's no reason to believe Mr. Cooke has abandoned his application" in Anne Arundel County.
Mr. Gould said that the project would occupy about 75 acres of the town center -- 15 acres for the stadium and 60 acres for "premium parking."
Last year, an Anne Arundel County zoning officer said the 382-acre Laurel site was "too small" for a stadium complex.
The town center is one of four components of the Konterra development on the site of a former sand and gravel operation. Ground has been broken on a 500-unit housing development that is to be incorporated into the city of Laurel. There will also be a research and development park south of the town center. And an upscale regional mall is planned for land west of Interstate 95.
For the mall or the stadium to be built, federal approval must be secured to build an Interstate 95 interchange. Interchanges to the north and south are too distant to serve either development, said Stephen Fisher, Prince George's County planning coordinator.
An access permit study is being completed and could be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation as early as next month, Mr. Fisher said.
Prince George's County Councilman Walter H. Maloney Jr., a Democrat whose northern Prince George's district includes Konterra and Laurel, said the traffic problems at the site make it unsuitable for a stadium.
Konterra "is not a suitable site; the transportation network is worse there than it is" at the site adjacent to the Laurel racetrack, Mr. Maloney said. "It would ruin the residential communities of Beltsville and Laurel, which sandwich the Konterra site."