Loudoun supervisors defend controversial marketing deal with Redskins

Members of the Board of Supervisors defended Loudoun County’s controversial marketing agreement with the Washington Redskins during a budget work session Thursday, calling it a valuable economic development tool for the county but not saying how it promotes tourism.

The eight-year, $2 million deal gives the county the use of a luxury suite at one game each year, among other marketing tools that brand Loudoun as the corporate home of the Redskins. The county pays the Redskins using restricted funds generated by its hotel tax revenue, which, under Virginia law, may be used only to promote travel and tourism in the county. A $500,000 payment to the team is included in County Administrator Tim Hemstreet’s fiscal 2015 budget plan, which supervisors are reviewing in sessions this month.

But some critics of the agreement say that it does little to benefit tourism and that the hotel tax revenue could be better spent elsewhere. More here.