D.C. mayor to announce Commanders' stadium will relocate to nation's capital: Source
The day that thousands of Washington Commanders fans have been awaiting for the last three decades will dawn Monday morning, when the team and the city formally announce their agreement on a proposed new stadium that will be built on the current RFK site on East Capitol St. in Northeast D.C., a source with knowledge of the talks confirmed to The Athletic.
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A report by Axios on Sunday night first disclosed that the agreement had been reached.
Commanders majority owner Josh Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will attend a news conference Monday at which they'll disclose some of the specific numbers attached to the proposed development. A new stadium will likely not be the only construction on the 174-acre site, which was home for the then-Washington Redskins from 1961 to 1997, when the team left the District and moved to what is now called Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
Reporting earlier this month included unconfirmed funding details that the Commanders would contribute as much as $2.5 billion for a new stadium, with the District contributing up to $850 million, primarily for infrastructure. Harris previously stated a desire for a new stadium to open by 2030. Sources indicated that the numbers reported by NBC 4 in Washington, which reported earlier this month that the sides were close to a deal, were from older iterations of negotiations between the sides.
But they confirmed that Harris and the Commanders would pay most of the costs for a new stadium, which is also expected to host Final Fours, marquee concerts and other big events.
It is unclear how Harris plans to use the rest of the site.
The team hired former JBG Smith executive Andy VanHorn last month to head its real estate development plans. VanHorn helped to build the Amazon HQ2 space in Virginia.
The city wants mixed-use development on the site, including housing, open spaces and other amenities for area residents. Harris is believed to want to build revenue-generating properties like hotels and restaurants on the site as well. Harris and his partners have toured multiple NFL stadiums in recent months.
The District received control of the site's commercial and community opportunities in December, following a last-minute agreement in the U.S. Senate to pass the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Revitalization Act. However, the arduous journey through Capitol Hill red tape remains in limbo until Congress passes a Senate-approved funding bill to return D.C.'s 2026 budget to expected levels.
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An earlier congressional bill cut the city's budget to 2024 terms, meaning Bowser would face budget shortcomings and challenging decisions. Congress has not taken action since the Senate vote in March, following President Trump's endorsement.
Bowser has prioritized keeping the city's local sports teams in town in recent years. In 2024, the mayor agreed to a deal with Monumental Sports, owners of the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals, that will see D.C. spend $515 million over three years to refresh Capital One Arena and keep the franchises in the downtown home through 2050. That came after a proposed deal struck by Wizards and Caps owner Ted Leonsis for a new arena and practice facility in Virginia fell apart, primarily because of fierce opposition in the Virginia state legislature.
Bowser also faces local opposition to a Commanders project at RFK.
Two local coalitions, Homes Not Stadiums and No Billionaires Playground, have joined forces to coalesce local opposition. Homes Not Stadiums is seeking to put a ballot initiative on next year's local elections that would prohibit the construction of a stadium on the RFK site, instead prioritizing affordable housing units and other benefits to the community.
Last week, Ward 6 representative Charles Allen, who represents the neighborhoods surrounding the RFK site, reiterated his opposition to public funding for a new Commanders stadium.
'The public investment in this is going to be more than a billion dollars, already, and I don't think that's a good deal for D.C.,' Allen said on 'The Politics Hour' on WAMU-FM radio last week. Allen also cited the notion that the stadium would be dark '340 days out of the year,' noted the need for massive parking structures for more than 8,000 vehicles that would cut into the available land for development, and the current economic downturn locally created by massive firings of government employees at the onset of the second Trump administration.
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The Commanders are coming off a surprising 12-win season that ended with the franchise's first NFC Championship Game appearance since the 1991 season.
'There's no question that there's some momentum,' Harris said following the season-ending loss at Philadelphia, 'and we would hope to capitalize on it.'
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who was raised in the District, has thrown ample support behind the stadium concept. Harris grew up in the nearby Maryland suburbs and is naturally drawn to the appeal of returning his hometown team to the place that housed three Super Bowl champions.
'I grew up with a great stadium, and I understand what it's like to play in a stadium where it's hard for the visiting team to play,' Harris said. ' … We're considering multiple jurisdictions, but in each case, right, those areas need help, need improvement and so that's gotta be part of it. The cities themselves have to have their own input as to what they want. …
'We need to have a great place where our fans can show up and as much as possible, we want that to be an advantage to our team in terms of winning on the field.'
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