Updated at 9:50 p.m.

Maryland is expected soon to finalize a deal to play Notre Dame at FedEx Field in the 2011 season, sources told InsideMDSports.com.

Athletic department officials from Maryland did not confirm that discussions are taking place. 

Maryland athletics director Debbie Yow said in an e-mail Tuesday that “I am always looking for special opportunities for us, as long as coach [Ralph] Friedgen agrees. That said, I would never compromise any possibilities by prematurely discussing them. That is all I can say on the subject. Discussions are never that important.  They happen all the time. Signing a deal is. That has not happened.”

Notre Dame senior associate athletic director John Heisler told ESPN's Notre Dame affiliate, IrishSportsDaily.com, that Maryland was one of a "variety of schools" that Notre Dame is talking to about a neutral-site game, but said that nothing has been finalized.

Zack Bolno, executive director of communications for the Washington Redskins, said in an e-mail: “We will not have a comment at this time.”

Sources told InsideMDSports that a deal is expected to be completed soon.  There are ongoing discussions about the payout for the game, sources said.

FedEx Field, the 91,704-seat home of the Redskins in Landover, hosted Virginia Tech-USC in 2004.  It is set to host two college games this fall: Penn State-Indiana on Nov. 20 and Virginia Tech-Boise State on Oct. 2 (the game could be moved to Labor Day).

The annual Army-Navy game is set for Dec. 10, 2011, at FedEx Field and Virginia Tech will play Cincinnati there in 2012. 

Mitch Gershman, chief operating officer for the Redskins, told The Washington Post in August that the Redskins were in talks with several college teams for games at FedEx Field in the next few years.

"We think it's good for our fan base and for our community," Gershman told The Post. "We're always looking to bring more value to our fan base and to bring great events to the area."

Maryland has played Notre Dame only once, in the 2002 Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.  Notre Dame won 22-0. 

IrishSportsDaily.com's Christian McCollum contributed to this story.

Photo by Christopher Blunck