What's next in the Commanders' process of building a new stadium in Washington

Roger Goodell acknowledged that a new, state-of-the-art Commanders stadium in Washington would drastically increase the chances of the U.S. capital hosting the Super Bowl for the first time.

“We’ve got to get it built first,” the NFL Commissioner said.

Before shovels are even in the ground at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the nearly $4 billion project trumpeted Monday needs majority approval from the Council of the District of Columbia. That is far from a formality or a rubber stamp given the roughly $1.1 billion in proposed investment by the city, though controlling owner Josh Harris is optimistic about its prospects.

"It’s just an incredible project for D.C., and I think that’s why I feel pretty confident it’s going to happen," Harris said. “I think that D.C., the council, will recognize what an incredible opportunity this is, as we did, and hopefully come around. Our job is to be transparent, to give them the information they need and to be supportive.”

Chairman Phil Mendelson on local radio expressed his doubts about there being enough council support for the price tag, and he has in the past said he is not in favor of public money for a stadium. Councilmember Charles Allen put out a news release calling it a “bad deal” for D.C., arguing that the stadium “cannot be an economic engine with only eight home games and a handful of concerts.”

The team and city vision is for not just Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts but 100-plus private events a year, with 1.4 million people going through the gates annually for everything from mixed-martial arts and wrestling cards to March Madness culminating in the Final Four and Premier League soccer and Army-Navy football games taking place in Washington.

To make all that a reality, seven (out of usually 13 but currently 12 with one vacancy) councilmembers need to vote in favor of the plan. Four were in attendance at the news conference, including Wendell Felder, who represents the area the stadium would be in and said it could use an anchor like other parts of the city.

“This deal gives Ward 7 an opportunity to change that,” Felder said. “When there’s opportunities to this magnitude, (it is about) making sure we’re getting in front of as many neighbors as possible across the ward so we hear their concerns, but most importantly we also want to create opportunities, whether those are business opportunities, whether those are employment opportunities for neighbors who will be impacted the most.”

Bowser said no residents will be forced to move because the project is contained entirely on the “RFK campus” land that includes the decaying ruins of the once-legendary stadium. But that does not mean there won't be folks affected by the construction and new flurry of activity.

“The good thing about this site is there was an NFL stadium there,” Bowser said, referring to Washington playing there from 1961-96 before moving to its current home in Landover, Maryland. “What we’ve heard from the community is they’re tired of the blight and they want the 180-acre parcel (of land) to be brought back to life. So, one advantage is that we won’t just have what’s there now: a sea of parking and a stadium. We’re going to be able to have a wonderful mix of uses.”

The plan calls for 5,000-6,000 new homes, at least 30% of which would be affordable housing, along with recreation, restaurants, stores and hotels with nearly a third of the land reserved for parks and open green space.

Harris, who along with co-owners Mitch Rales and Mark Ein grew up as fans of the team, pointed out that the city's contribution for infrastructure would have needed to happen regardless of what went on the site.

“That’s what they’re doing, and so they get all this other stuff,” Harris said. “I believe that this project speaks for itself. I think the (return on investment) to D.C.: the thousands of jobs, the billions of tax revenue, the events — D.C. deserves this.”

The aggressive timeline to get the building opened by 2030 involves council approval this summer so planning can take place in the fall and the groundbreaking happen in the fall or winter of 2026.

Citing recent approval of an $800 million overhaul renovation of downtown Capital One Arena to keep the NHL's Capitals and NBA's Wizards in Washington that is now underway, Kenyan R. McDuffie is unbothered by the need for he and his fellow councilmembers to figure this out quickly.

“We know that we can walk and chew gum in the nation’s capital,” McDuffie said. “I don’t think it takes away from the excitement of fans and people who live here understanding that this such a tremendous opportunity for the nation’s capital. And it’s an opportunity for us to grow our local economy and do it in a way that’s smart that involves people who live here and the small businesses that are based here.”

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