FedEx Field - The NFL's Worst Stadium
FedExField or Jack Kent Cooke stadium as it was called when it first opened is home to the Washington Football Team of the NFL. The stadium was planned and constructed as a replacement for the aging RFK Stadium, which hosted Washington for 35 years from 1961-1996.
The stadium was originally named after the late team owner Jack Cooke, and located in an area called Raljon. Raljon was a combination of Jack Cooke’s two sons names, Ralph and John. The late owner had pushed for the United States Postal Service to incorporate the area around the city withy Raljon as its legal name, and as an alternate for the 20785 zipcode normally designated Landover, Maryland. After current owner Dan Snyder bought the team, the Raljon area name, and stadium name Jack Kent Cook Stadium were retired. Landover was restored as the proper stadium address and FedEx bought the naming rights for nearly $8 million dollars a year.
For some time the stadium was the largest in the NFL in terms of seating capacity. Interestingly the stadium seating capacity has changed by nearly 13,000 seats since it first opened. The stadium opened with 80,116 seats, and increased up to 91,704 by 2010. Current seating capacity for the stadium is 82,000, placing it only 500 seats behind the current largest MetLife Stadium. Perhaps the team was too ambitious with the seating capacity, as the stadium has never sold out a game in its 24 year history.
Since opening in 1997, the stadium has been ranked as one of the worst in the NFL. Initial reviews were so bad that in 2007 with the stadium being only 10 years old, team owner Dan Snyder met with area officials to discuss building a new stadium, although these plans never came into fruition.
Attempts to improve the fan experience included adding “dream seats” in front of the former row 1. These seats have come under fire as fans have to stand to see the field over players' heads. The additions of new luxury suites and the removal of parts of the upper deck have done nothing to improve the stadium's reputation.
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