Loudoun To Partner With The Washington Redskins?

While the Washington Redskins operations have been a part of Loudoun's landscape for years, the county government is just now beginning to look into the possibility of highlighting such a nationally known association.

Last spring, a team from the county government approached the Redskins organization to begin exploring the possibility of a partnership. The effort was spurred when county leaders learned that there was interest from other parts of the region in bringing the team to their area.

"It started heavily because there was a lot of interest from Virginia Beach for the Redskins," Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said. "Especially for the training camp."

The Board of Supervisors tomorrow will consider a proposal to partner with the Washington Redskins, including associating the team's name and logo with Loudoun County. Under the proposal, the county is looking to invest $250,000 of its hotel tax collections to the partnership over the next two years. The county collects a 5 percent tax on overnight stays. Three percent of the funds, known as the restricted TOT, are required by state law to be used to promote tourism within the county. Revenue from the remaining 2 percent of the tax is deposited into the county's general fund. The board is proposing to use tourism funds to promote the Redskins partnership.

"The more efficiently we use that money, the more the pot gets bigger, the more money goes into the general fund," Waters said.

Of the total county investment, $100,000 is planned to come from FY09 and the remaining $150,000 will come in FY10. The benefit of breaking it up over two years, Waters said, is that it gives the county the opportunity to evaluate the benefits it is gaining from the partnership.

"If it falls apart, we can back out and not do the FY10 money," she said. The partnership will be tracked through the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association.

Among the items in the first phase of the partnership are trademark rights, allow the county to use "Home of the Washington Redskins" on county material and the Web site, press releases and on-air dateline will refer to the county, there would be a banner advertisement at Redskins.com, references to training camp being held in Loudoun in all literature and the right to host events at Redskins Park. The partnership would also include an e-mail blast with at least one Loudoun-centric story per month, from events in the county to a player or staff member talking about what it is like to live in Loudoun.

In the second phase of the partnership would expand on the first phase, but also include the development of a Redskins Hall of Fame in Loudoun County.

"That could really work to attract people from the region and beyond," Waters said. "One of the advantages of this partnership is showing our community is committed to having them here as a business and they are committed to being here as a business."

Not all supervisors are convinced the Redskins partnership would be a boon for the county, and some are questioning the merits of the agreement.

"I question the value of giving money to an entertainment organizations that is one of the wealthiest leagues that is out there," Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg) said. "The Redskins are not putting a cent into this proposal."

Burk said she might be able to support the initial $100,000 for marketing, but said she questioned "the validity and the reasoning and how this is going to benefit Loudoun

County. There is much better ways to use [TOT funds] than this."

Those who support the partnership, however, said the county is not paying the Redskins, but rather paying for the advertising, the marketing, that the association will bring.

"I believe the value of this is greater than more of the marketing stuff than we purchase," Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) said. York also pointed out that partnerships that the Redskins have made with other, private, businesses and organizations have come with a much higher price tag.

"The value of this type of package is well over $600,000 a year. It sounds like we're getting more for a heck of a lot less," he said. "This will help to promote Loudoun County beyond Loudoun County's borders. The Skins have a big following, not only in the U.S., but throughout the world."

While Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) acknowledged that the partnership might raise the county's visibility, he questioned whether partnering with the Redskins was really the best way to promote the county.

"A team can be based anywhere. We have things in Loudoun that no one else has. We are D.C.'s wine country. We have polo matches," he said. "What I question is whether the exposure is going to be in a place for people who are interested in what we have."

The LCVA has already dipped its toe into the Redskins pool, partnering with the organization for promotional activities at the Oct. 19 home game. At the game, LCVA took hotel and meeting facility representatives and eight wineries to five wine tastings in the corporate suites of FedEx Field. In addition, DC's Wine Country, as Loudoun has been trademarked, was promoted throughout the game and placed in media leading up to the game.

But Miller said nothing he has seen so far has convinced him that the Redskins is the best place for the Restricted TOT money to be used. Miller also has concerns that the co-branding with the Redskins might prevent any future partnerships with other groups or organizations.

"You don't want to run all over the map. You can't be too many things if what you want to do is represent yourself to the greater community at large as place to visit," he said.

But those that support the partnership said the far-reach of the Redskins will help draw a new demographic of people to Loudoun.

"Those people who are coming in to have a good time, those people that are coming in to do business here in Loudoun Co9unty, they do spend money here," York said. "So we need to use the tax in any way that promotes and makes that happen at a higher magnitude."