President Joe Biden signed the the RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act on Monday, per the Associated Press, paving the way for the possibility of the Washington Commanders moving back to Washington D.C. This comes after the The U.S. Senate passed the resolution by unanimous consent last month, giving the city the opportunity to negotiate with developers.
The land will transfer from federal control to city control within 180 days, giving the city 170 acres to work with. RFK Stadium can now be torn down and the city can begin new projects with the 99-year lease, including a potential new stadium.
Now, the city and the Commanders need to work out a deal and get the D.C. Council on board. Washington D.C is spending a significant amount — around $515 million over the next three years — on Capital Arena, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals. Whether they will want to spend more public money on a stadium as well will be one hurdle.
Another hurdle could be from Maryland, where the Commanders currently reside. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been vocal about wanting a new stadium built next to the current one in Landover.
The team has a contract to play at Northwest Stadium until 2027, but the deal could be extended until they have a new stadium completed, as the team owns the stadium and land where they currently play. Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris previously said 2030 is a reasonable target for a new stadium.
No federal funding is involved in the current bill. Ahead of the bill passing, Elon Musk, an advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, reposted misinformation on social media that said Congress was giving the district $3 billion to build a stadium, but that was shut down by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
When the senate passed the bill, the NFL called it “an important breakthrough” and said, “Washington, D.C., will now have a long-overdue seat at the table when it comes to the location of a new Commanders stadium.”
Bowser said the move is “win for D.C., for our region, and for America.”
The Commanders played at RFK Stadium from 1961 through 1996, before the move to Maryland.
Read the full article here
