Commanders, DC To Build Stadium With Roof At RFK Stadium Site

WASHINGTON, DC — After playing in Landover, Maryland, since 1997, Washington’s NFL franchise is set to return to the nation’s capital as part of an agreement between the organization and the District of Columbia government to build on the site of the old RFK Stadium.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday the District of Columbia and the Commanders reached an agreement to construct a new 65,000 seat home for the football team in the city at the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. The project totaling nearly $4 billion. is pending D.C. City Council approval.

The Washington Post first reported the design includes a roof over the stadium, which would enable the NFL to consider D.C. as a site to host a Super Bowl. The NFL rarely awards Super Bowls to cold-weather cities unless the stadium has a roof, the newspaper said.

The team and the mayor announced the move in a video posted on social media, narrated by Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Theismann, who spoke about his experience playing at RFK Stadium and how the new one will benefit the city.

“The time is now," Theismann said. "Let's bring Washington back to D.C.”

The Commanders are contributing $2.7 billion, with the city investing roughly $1.1 billion over the next eight years for the stadium, housing, green space and a sportsplex on 170 acres of land bordering the Anacostia River. The stadium itself will take up just 16 of those acres.

Currently, the Commanders play at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, a venue that had been known as FedEx Field until 2024. The move came two years before the agreement's scheduled 2026 expiration; the team moved there in 1997.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that the Commanders have agreed to pay for a study on how to repurpose the Northwest Stadium site. Moore told NBC Washington he will work with state and local governments, plus Landover residents, to decide how to use the space, which might include entertainment venues and housing.

Moore said the Prince George's County site is unsatisfactory and underutilized as is.

“We are going to turn that area into an area where there’s going to be real opportunities for the people in the neighborhoods,” Moore told NBC. “For people to be able to live and stay and play and have an attraction that’s better than what it is right now.”

Restaurants, entertainment venues and hotels will be built around the D.C. stadium, the mayor said Monday. The team will add 5,000-6,000 housing units near the new stadium, with at least 30% set to be affordable housing, WTOP reported.

New Ownership Pushes For New Stadium

A group led by Josh Harris bought the team last year for $6.05 billion.

The most recent progress on a new stadium came when Congress passed a bill transferring the RFK Stadium land to D.C. that was signed by former President Joe Biden in early January, after lobbying on Capitol Hill by Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell late last year.

The Commanders’ lease at Northwest Stadium runs through 2027. Harris has called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

In April 2024, the Commanders said they intended to continue fixing the venue, once ranked the worst NFL stadium. Since Harris ownership took the reins last July, the Commanders have promised more than $75 million in upgrades to the stadium.

The announced upgrades included quicker entry into the stadium, new premium seating options and suite experiences, improved food and drink options, sound system upgrades, elevator and escalator upgrades, water and mechanical system updates, and other infrastructure upgrades.

In August 2024, Harris hinted that a new stadium might be possible by the 2030 season, according to an Associated Press report. Demolition on RFK Stadium is expected to take about 22 months.

Harris and his ownership group said they were hopeful the site occupied by the crumbling RFK Stadium, located in downtown Washington, would be under consideration; however, the federal government must first sign off on transferring the land to the District of Columbia.

The U.S. House of Representatives has given its approval, but the Senate has not, according to the AP. Harris said he is hopeful the Senate will act during the lame-duck session after the November elections, noting that when a new administration takes over, "it's very hard to predict" what will happen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.