WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Commanders are going home. The D.C. Council voted to approve a deal between the team and the city, paving the way for the franchise to return to the district.
The council voted 9-3 – it needed a two-thirds majority – to approve plans for a football stadium at the site where the franchise enjoyed its best days.
The council must vote again on this measure on Sept. 17, but multiple sources involved in the process said the team has been told it can proceed with its plans after Friday’s vote knowing the second vote is expected to have the same result.
Washington announced a deal with the city to build a stadium at the site where RFK Stadium – its home from 1961-96 – still sits. The 174-acre property will become a mixed-use facility with housing developments, a sports complex and retail shops.
The Commanders will invest $2.7 billion to build the stadium – and cover the cost overruns – while the district will contribute $1 billion. The Commanders have long targeted 2030 as the year a stadium must open, in large part so they could host more big events such as the Women’s World Cup in 2031.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser told ESPN last month she feels “very good” about the stadium being opened by then and added, “I think it could go faster.”
Bowser said the team could start infrastructure work the “early part of next year and get shovels in the ground this time next year.”
The stadium will be domed and while they haven’t ruled out a retractable roof, the cost of one – plus the possible returns – likely would make that prohibitive, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
The Commanders had considered staying at their current home in Landover, Md., but owner Josh Harris and his staff focused first on returning to RFK. The team will continue to train at its Ashburn, Va., facility and have team headquarters in College Park, Md. Harris has said he wants to represent all of the “DMV” – District, Maryland and Virginia.
But RFK has always been the sentimental site for fans of the franchise – Harris grew up in the area as a fan of the team and used to attend games at this stadium. From 1972-92 Washington played in five Super Bowls and won three and endured only two losing seasons. RFK became a distinct home field advantage, with its intimate setting and some movable stands that fans could bounce.
But former owner Jack Kent Cooke could not get a new stadium built in the district and paid for the current one to be built in Maryland. But since opening the stadium in 1997 the organization has posted only eight winning seasons and reached the postseason seven times. Washington went 12-5 last season and reached the NFC Championship Game where it lost to Philadelphia.
Returning to the district was a longshot just two-plus years ago, with multiple sources at the time considering it a distant third behind sites in Maryland and Virginia. But a series of events – Dan Snyder putting the team up for sale; Harris buying it in July of 2023 and Congress leasing the federal land to the district for the next 99 years.
There were also last-minute deals struck with council members. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said in a press conference last week that renegotiated terms would net around $779 million for the city over 30 years – that could come from revenue or savings on other costs.
They also renegotiated parking revenue so the district could levy an 18 percent tax – as they have at their other parking garages. That money would be used for stadium upkeep.
Bowser impressed upon the council that the city would benefit immediately from a stadium being built because of instant jobs created. A council budget office study stated a new stadium would result in economic benefits six years earlier than a mixed-use development would generate.
Some members feared what would happen if there was a no vote. No other private investor has come forward with another proposal for the property.
“The alternative is we’re still talking about this in 10 years,” one member said.
