Josh Harris plans to ‘energize’ FedEx Field

Article posted by Coliseum, September 12^th, 2023

Image: FedEx Field, WilliamWild, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Josh Harris (Principal Owner of the Commanders) era will begin for the National Football League (NFL) team Washington Commanders with $40 million in renovations and upgrades to their residence – the FedEx Field in Maryland (US).

‘Bleacher Report’ stated that the Commanders announced the investment recently.

Josh Harris is an American investor, sports team owner and philanthropist. He is the Co-Founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and the Principal Owner and Managing Partner of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA’s) Philadelphia 76ers, the National Hockey League’s (NHL’s) New Jersey Devils and the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

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New York (US)-based the Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American private equity firm. Founded in New York City by Leon Black, Josh Harris and Marc Rowan in 1990, it provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity and real assets.

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area (US). The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference East division.

The 67,617-capacity FedEx Field is an American football stadium located in Landover, Maryland, 5 miles East of Washington, D.C. (US). The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 until 2010, it had the largest seating capacity in the NFL at over 91,000.

‘Bleacher Report’ further stated that in addition to general maintenance, the $40 million will go toward new ticket scanners, the addition of three new “themed suites” and updated Commanders signage around the stadium, the team informed.

These renovations follow the team’s March announcement that the FedEx Field will use new videoboards and a new sound system next season.

The Commanders Senior Vice-President of Operations and Guest Experience Trista Langdon said there will be continued changes to the stadium during the season, including “a reimagined pregame ritual”.

The Commanders first announced this ritual recently, describing the new pregame program as an “interactive” show beginning 20 minutes before kickoff.

Additionally, Commanders Vice-President of Guest Experience Joey Coby-Begovich said last month that the Commanders’ dance team, marching band and mascot Major Tuddy could be involved in “new on-field entertainment enhancements”.

These updates represent continued rebranding for the Commanders, who are hoping to seize on enthusiasm regarding the team’s new ownership in order to improve last season’s NFL-worst attendance numbers.

The Washington training camp received its highest attendance in at least 10 years this July, as per sources, and the team has started selling “standing room only” tickets for the Commanders’ home opener against their peer team the Arizona Cardinals.

Harris, the leader of the group that purchased the Commanders from the Snyder family, said in an open letter published in the ‘Washington Post’ in July that he wanted to bring the energy he felt “as a kid” in the franchise’s former (now closed) 45,423-capacity Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., to the FedEx Field.

This investment in the stadium could be the first step toward that, while the second will be for the team to put together a winning record for the first time since 2016.

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