Jack Kent Cooke

Gov. William Donald Schaefer and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke were scheduled to meet today for the first time since Mr. Cooke announced his intention to move the team to Laurel.The governor wrote to Mr. Cooke last month that he would agree to a meeting only if the owner agreed to consider moving the Redskins to Baltimore or pledged that he will not block continuing attempts to get a team in Baltimore.Mr. Cooke has proposed spending $160 million of his own money to construct a 78,600-seat stadium for the Redskins adjacent to Laurel Race Course in Anne Arundel County.

Quotes from state politicians and NFL officials about the proposed Redskins move:Washington Redskins (presented as No. 4 on press release list ** of "Stadium Facts"): "This is not a ploy to negotiate a better deal with any other locality. It is a firm commitment by Jack Kent Cooke and the Washington Redskins to build the new Redskins Stadium in Laurel."Lt. Gov. Melvin A. Steinberg, Democratic candidate for governor: "Although we have to proceed cautiously, the proposal should ++ not be summarily dismissed.

The lure of $6.9 million a year in revenue from an NFL stadium in Laurel might be enough to turn Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary into a believer.The revenue projection was included in a study released this month by Arthur Anderson & Co. The figures it offers would be enough to trigger the two incentives Mr. Gary has said he would offer the Washington Redskins: a break on property taxes worth as much as $2 million -- which would cut into the $6.9 million figure -- and the use of county revenue bonds to finance infrastructure improvements, such as roads.

Take it from one who knows: Baltimore is very much in the running for a National Football League team. Ignore the naysayers. Listen to Norman Braman, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, who has spoken with two NFL owners "who are seriously considering moving their clubs to this city."With all the carefully staged hoopla and media publicity surrounding Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke's plans for a stadium in Laurel, it is easy to dismiss Baltimore's chances of landing a team -- until you examine the facts.

More than 100 Laurel residents gathered in an elementary school cafeteria last night to develop ways to stop Jack Kent Cooke's plans to build a 78,600-seat football stadium in Anne Arundel County.The opponents distributed letters that could be sent to elected officials, discussed staging a rally in Annapolis and talked about hiring lawyers to help them as they battle with the 81-year-old multimillionaire owner of the Washington Redskins."What we are worried about is that Jack Kent Cooke has learned a lot of lessons from Alexandria," said Peter Militch, referring to the Northern Virginia city that rejected Mr. Cooke's plan to build the stadium there.

Jack Kent Cooke's flirtation with a site in Laurel for a 78,000-seat stadium to house his Washington Redskins raises the inevitable question: Why doesn't Washington's team stay in Washington?The ball club is, after all, one of the originals in the National Football League. It has a long and treasured history. The football club is a part of the Washington scene, a focal point of interest for area residents throughout the fall and winter months. To suddenly uproot the team for greener suburban pastures hurts efforts to revitalize the District of Columbia and deprives that city of a crown jewel.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue forced the Washington Redskins to delay their quest for Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Norv Turner yesterday.After Charley Casserly, the Redskins general manager, called Turner yesterday to set up an interview this weekend for their head coaching position, Tagliabue told the owners at a meeting in Dallas that he no longer will allow assistant coaches to be interviewed by other teams as long as their teams are still in...

Gov. Parris N. Glendening, making good on a campaign promise, vowed yesterday to block the necessary roadwork for a Washington Redskins stadium in Laurel -- a position that effectively would end the team's hope of moving to the Maryland suburb."

WASHINGTON -- Suspicion was everywhere at RFK Stadium yesterday, among even the most loyal Washington Redskins fans, as the debate intensified over Jack Kent Cooke's intentions to move the team to Laurel.The Redskins were meeting the New York Jets on the field, but the Washington fans were more than willing to talk at length about Cooke.Richard Cooling of Frederick went so far as to suggest that Cooke was just helping out Laurel/Pimlico operator Joe De Francis with his proposal to purchase land from him to build a new stadium.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Fans of the continuing Redskins Stadium soap opera wonder whether the "billionaire bully" and the jilted mayor can make amends and agree on a new deal. Stay tuned.In the wake of an announcement yesterday by Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke that the deal to build a stadium in Virginia is off, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly waved an olive branch in Cooke's direction.Kelly who called Cooke a "billionaire bully" in June after he made a deal to build a stadium at Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Va., said that she still hopes to keep the team in the nation's capital.