The Washington Commanders are on the verge of moving back to the District of Columbia, returning to the RFK Stadium site where the team played for 35 years before relocating to Landover, Md., in 1997.
The Commanders have played in one version or another of what is now called Northwest Stadium for 28 years. Built and originally paid for by former owner Jack Kent Cooke, the stadium was initially named after him, although he passed away before the stadium opened.
After Daniel Snyder bought the team and the stadium, he sold the naming rights, and it was known as FedEx Field from 1999 to 2024.
The team was once one of the most popular in the NFL. Washington won three Super Bowls between 1982 and 1991, and season ticket waitlists stretched for years. From 2002 to 2010, the team led the league in attendance, thanks to the NFL’s largest seating capacity of 91,000. Yet, that number has since dropped to 61,000.
Washington Commanders Would Pay Most of the Costs for New Stadium
As reported by Mark Segraves of NBC4 in Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and the team have put together the framework for a $3 billion deal to move the franchise back to D.C. in time for the 2030 season. Managing partner Josh Harris has been pushing for the deal since buying the team for $6.05 billion in July 2023.
Northwest Stadium has gone from being one of the league’s premier venues to being considered one of the worst. It’s far from local highways and public transit, and once you’re there, just staying in your seat isn’t always a guarantee — as seen during an incident on Jan. 4, 2022.
Though the deal isn’t finalized, multiple sources report the Commanders would cover around $2.5 billion of the $3 billion project, with the district contributing roughly $850 million toward construction of the mixed-use site.
Like the Los Angeles Rams’ privately funded stadium in Inglewood, Calif., this setup stands in stark contrast to most NFL stadium deals, which typically rely on taxpayer money to foot the majority of the bill.
Even Cincinnati is pushing back on paying for renovations to Paycor Stadium for the Bengals, while voters in Kansas City recently rejected a proposed sales tax to fund new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals.
Still, potential snags remain. The district’s finances are tied to congressional appropriations, and Mayor Bowser will have to present her next fiscal year budget proposal later this month.
While the framework of a deal has reportedly been agreed to, there are still questions — particularly about the public funding — left to be answered.
