Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke said yesterday that he may consider building a stadium on one of several fallback sites in Maryland or Virginia if his first choice, Laurel, does not work out, but he said staying in Washington does not appear likely.
"I'm a patient man, and it will work out. We will be building a stadium in Maryland, that's for sure. Or in Virginia," Mr. Cooke said.
The Laurel site, halfway between Washington and Baltimore, was soundly rejected last summer after a long zoning hearing in Anne Arundel County. The team has appealed the decision and is talking to political leaders in the county about changing the zoning.
"My first interest is in Anne Arundel/Laurel, but we've always had these other strings in our bow," Mr. Cooke said.
Confirmation that the team is considering sites other than Laurel has heartened leaders in Washington and Virginia, who had tried to lure the $200 million project in the past and would welcome another chance.
But Mr. Cooke said the District of Columbia, which is working its way through a financial crisis, appears to be "out of the question."
He said that two sites in Virginia and a number in Maryland are under consideration.
Representatives of Mr. Cooke have said that numerous sites have been discussed, including a planned Prince George's County development called Konterra, a horse farm in Suitland, a proposed development in Oxon Hill, the USAir Arena in Landover and a site in Montgomery County off Interstate 270. Mr. Cooke said Virginia's Loudoun County is also a possibility.
"They are all in the quill," Mr. Cooke said.
Despite their financial troubles, political leaders in Washington appear to have been the most persistent in wooing the team and still hold out hopes of persuading the Redskins to stay.
"When you see in the paper that the Laurel deal appears to be going nowhere and that he may be looking elsewhere, it does lead to some optimism," said Washington City Council member Jack Evans.
Mr. Evans suggested that all of the sites under discussion would present the same traffic and parking troubles that led to the rejection of the Laurel plan. His solution: Stay in Washington.
"I think the stadium belongs here," he said.
Mr. Cooke and the District had a deal, since abandoned by the Redskins, to build a new stadium adjacent to the team's current home at RFK Stadium. The RFK site and the site adjacent to it have the appropriate zoning and transportation infrastructure, Mr. Evans said.
Washington Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr., who made securing the Redskins a high priority during his campaign last year, has asked the team owner to reconsider the capital. Mr. Cooke said yesterday that the mayor called him almost daily for several months, but that he had not heard from Mr. Barry during the past few weeks, while the district's financial crisis has been in the news.
"I think he has more important things right now," Mr. Cooke said.
Mr. Evans said he thinks the mayor is focusing on the financial crisis and is limiting his sports agenda to getting a downtown arena built for the Bullets basketball team and the Capitals hockey team, who play at USAir Arena.
"But it wouldn't surprise me to read in six months that a deal has been put together," he said.
The District's financial crisis would appear to hamper its ability to offer inducements to Mr. Cooke, but Mr. Evans said, "We could find the money. There would be a lot of support."
Barry spokesman Johnny Allem said, "We'd love to have the Redskins stay here, and we'd do anything we could to see that happen, but we're not going to comment on a day-to-day basis about what we're doing."
Loudoun County held a hearing last week on the proposed "special use" designation for about 1,600 acres near the Dulles International Airport. Planners hope to win zoning approval for stadiums, amusement parks and other uses at the site, which will be served by a toll road extension now under construction and proposed Metro rail stops.
Both Loudoun and Fairfax counties offered land to the Redskins more than a year ago, before the team settled on Laurel, and say they would do so again. Several sites in the counties are under consideration as part of the region's efforts to acquire a major-league baseball expansion team.
"The chairman of the board of supervisors has said a baseball stadium would work better in combination with something else like a football stadium or convention center," said Jim Barnes, spokesman for Loudoun County.
The special-use district has won widespread support, he said.
County economic development director Terry Holzheimer said he has been in regular contact with the team for several years, and has offered them property in the special-use district, but has not received any encouragement from the team.
"They've done [a] demographic analysis of their fan base, and I think they want to be a little closer to the District [of Columbia]," he said. His last conversation with team officials was several months ago, he said.
"We've always taken the position that we have a number of sites and would love to talk to them," Mr. Holzheimer said.
Bob Dix, vice chairman of the Fairfax County board of supervisors, said the county would like to meet again with Mr. Cooke about a stadium but is now concentrating on its baseball efforts in anticipation of a reported March or April decision by baseball team owners.