If D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and The Washington Commanders have their way, the Commanders will make their return to RFK campus by the fall of 2030, thanks to a deal that places much of the financial burden on the Commanders for the construction of a new football stadium.
As the D.C. Council prepares to deliberate on the RFK campus development deal, there remains the question of how the Commanders will consult residents, labor groups and other stakeholders in the compilation of a community benefits plan centered on supplemental education and enrichment resources for District youth and returning citizens.
Bowser, not speaking too specifically about that process, said that, as it currently stands, the District’s arrangement with the Commanders already benefits District residents.
“Because of this catalytic anchor investment by the Commanders, [we will be able to deliver] between 5,000 and 6,000 units of housing,” Bowser told The Informer. “We will be able to deliver more hotels. More than 16,000 jobs will be created, and more than $20 billion in tax revenue.”
On Monday, Bowser joined Commanders owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the ballroom of the National Press Club in Northwest where the trio formally announced what Bowser called a deal that’s a decade in the making.
The deal— amounting to $3.6 billion— includes a $2.7 billion investment from the Commanders that will go toward the construction of a new stadium, along with entertainment stadium riverfront districts anchored by housing, retail and restaurants.
The District’s initial contribution of $850 million will fund the construction of housing and recreation in Kingman Park, a sportsplex at the Fields at RFK, and a 30-acre stretch of riverfront community commons along the Anacostia River Trail. An additional $202 million will fund the construction of roadways and utilities infrastructure, and a WMATA capacity study.
This brings the District’s contribution to more than $1 billion over six fiscal years.
Out of the initial $850 million that the Bowser administration has pledged, more than half— $500 million— will come from funds generated by the existing sports facilities fee, while EventsDC will commit $181 million for parking. By 2032, the other $175 million, generated by stadium activity, will be reinvested into parking.
As outlined in a term sheet obtained by The Informer, the community benefits plan, to be created prior to the council’s approval of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget and associated legislation, will further determine how the revitalized RFK campus will support schools and nonprofits in providing educational support and encouraging youth access to District-based sports facilities.
“We have laid out some pretty preliminary ideas with the team about other ways that the community will want to be involved in the site,” Bowser said on Monday. “I know I’ve had some preliminary conversations with members of the council, and the team has had preliminary conversations with members of the council, and I expect those ideas will be fleshed out during the council process.”
Charting the Path to Seven Council Votes
According to a timeline presented by the Bowser administration, the D.C. council would need to approve Bowser’s deal with the Commanders by the summer— a feat that requires seven council votes.
On Monday, D.C. Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie (I-At large), Anita Bonds (D-At large), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) and Wendell Felder (D-Ward 7) joined the several dozens of government personnel, community members and football fans who filled the ballroom of the National Press Club in celebration of the Commanders’ return to the District.
Felder, whose jurisdiction includes RFK campus, stands as a vocal supporter of the redevelopment, as does McDuffie, who introduced legislation earlier this year to designate D.C. as the nation’s sports capital.
In a statement, Felder, in his first year as a council member, spoke about what was at stake for his constituents.
“The redevelopment has the potential to bring new jobs, affordable housing, business opportunities, and recreational space that Ward 7 residents deserve,” Felder said. “It will breathe new life into an area that has been waiting too long for real development and meaningful economic growth.”
Meanwhile, D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) and D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) count among those on the council who’ve expressed apprehension about the use of public dollars to fund stadium construction.
Allen, a longtime critic of a new football stadium, circulated a statement marking Monday as the first day of a council debate about how to “reimagine” one of the District’s largest plots of unused land. Despite Bowser and the Commanders’ assertion that the new stadium would, in addition to Commanders home games, host more than 10 concerts and more than 100 private events annually, Allen remains adamant that the executive is inflating RFK’s future usage.
“If passed as is, taxpayers will be on the hook for over $1 billion for a stadium, surrounded by parking garages, that would sit unused 335 days a year,” Allen said in a statement. “In stark financial terms, at a time when the District is facing a recession and tens of thousands of workers are losing their jobs, this proposal is asking D.C. residents to pay more than $4 million for each and every home game for the next 30 years, a proposal that doesn’t even include funding for a sorely needed Metro station expansion to give people alternatives to driving.”
Earlier this year, Mendelson cited Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and District public school buildings as capital projects more deserving of attention. By Monday, when, according to a staffer, he hadn’t yet received the term sheet outlining the specifics of the football stadium deal, he continued to espouse the need for fiscal management and transparency.
“The cost to the District will be nearly $1 billion— and that does not include investments in Metro and the surrounding parkland site,” Mendelson said in a statement. “I continue to be concerned with investing any public money into a stadium while we have constrained budgets and revenues, and unmet needs.”
Mendelson questioned the mayor’s fervor for collaboration, especially at a time when the District faces projected revenue loss and the likelihood of local government furloughs and building closures.
“We were not consulted about this negotiation; it was not even brought up when I was briefed on April 16,” Mendelson said. “Indeed, other than that one briefing – which was for me, not the council – there has been no collaboration with the council,” Mendelson continued, pivoting to the current situation at hand. “The mayor needs to focus on getting us a final budget – she’s on track to miss that deadline by over seven weeks! And adopting a budget, with mayor-proposed cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, should be our highest priority.”
Kingman Park Residents Share Opposing Views on Stadium Deal
Kingman Park resident Andria Thomas shared sentiments similar to Mendelson, telling The Informer that Bowser’s assertion about sports and entertainment spurring economic development doesn’t quell her anxiety about the District’s current economic situation.
“My take isn’t about the Commanders specifically, it’s about how we should be questioning all D.C . budget decisions,” said Thomas, a 15-year District resident and at-large committeewoman for the D.C. Democratic Party.
Even with the pending creation of a community benefits plan, Thomas, a mother of D.C. public school students, pondered the degree to which residents living beyond the confines of the 180-acre space would reap the benefits of an $850 million public investment.
“I would be actively supportive if the team and its billionaire owner were directly investing in D.C Maybe they want to build us some new playing fields and sponsor the athletic departments needs of D.C. Public Schools to help build up the next generation of athletes,” Thomas said. “I know they are always looking for more equipment and uniforms [at my children’s schools]. Any dollars we give to NFL teams are dollars we aren’t spending on our kids.”
In recent years, the Bowser administration has engaged community members about the development of a stadium on RFK campus. Such was the case in the fall of 2023 when, during deliberations on Capitol Hill about legislation to transfer the land to the District, Bowser met with Kingman Park residents at St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Northeast.
Earlier this year, during an event at Eastern High School that Felder’s office and EventsDC coordinated, Ward 7 residents weighed in on the future of RFK campus. A Bowser administration spokesperson recently confirmed that the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development subsequently conducted stakeholder meetings with future gatherings to take place.
Whenever Bowser administration officials publicly engage District residents again about the development of a new football stadium, they will most likely find those opposed to the Commanders’ return.
In the weeks leading up to Bowser’s announcement, a group known as “Homes, Not Stadiums” circulated a petition for a ballot measure that, if approved by D.C. voters, changes the zoning on RFK campus to prevent the construction of a football stadium.
Members of No Billionaire’s Playground have also been relentless in their criticism of the deal, releasing a statement on Monday calling for a grocery store and more than twice the amount of housing promised in Bowser’s plan.
While No Billionaire’s Playground expressed doubt about the Commanders’ regard for Kingman Park residents, at least one D.C. resident said he supports the Commanders’ return to RFK Campus and all it represents for longtime Washingtonians.
“They only moved in the neighborhood about 10 years ago, so they don’t know the spirit and the comradery,” longtime Kingman Park resident Cosby Washington told The Informer about his neighbors. “They just don’t remember.”
Washington, 75, recounted his childhood as a Washington football fan who witnessed a franchise at the height of its success during the 1980s and 1990s. “That team uplifted D.C., especially [when they won] the Super Bowls,” he said about what, at times, became an exclusive fan experience. “My mother had to wait 10 years before she got a ticket, and then she had to wait until her first husband died [before she got] his tickets.”
After the Commanders moved to what’s now known as Northwest Stadium, in Landover, Maryland in 1996, Washington frequented RFK campus with his children, who, as he recalled, rode their bikes on the grounds.
For Washington, the Commanders’ return to RFK campus could serve District residents well— if Bowser and the Commanders hold up their end of the bargain.
“Mayor Bowser promised certain things… not to take away the fields, not to remove any of the houses in our neighborhood,” said Washington, a lifelong D.C. resident who has lived in Kingman Park for more than 30 years. “I want to [see] an investment that… really embraces young people. Young people need to learn….how to be industrious and be on time. This is where it starts.”
Harris and Goodell Weigh In
Since the turn of the century, NFL franchises have invested more than $32 billion in stadiums. Goodell, NFL commissioner of more than two decades, alluded to at least eight more projects underway, including RFK campus, that’s estimated to cost a total $220 billion.
Goodell, a longtime Washington franchise fan, commended D.C.’s football team for its recent success, including an appearance in the NFC championship against the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year.
With RFK campus heralded as a possible site for future Super Bowls, Goodell congratulated Bowser, Harris and the D.C. community he said stands to experience significant gains.
“Here in the District, there will be billions of dollars invested in this area and economic activity that lifts up the city and generates jobs throughout the region,” Goodell said on Monday. “The NFL has a long history of investing in stadium projects along with the home team, but all 31 teams will contribute along with Josh and his partners. This is an important project that the league recognizes, and we will be there to support.”
The Washington Football franchise moved to the D.C. metropolitan area in 1936 from Boston. During the earlier half of the 20th century, the team won two NFL championships.
Under the leadership of owner Jack Kent Cooke and Joe Gibbs as coach, Washington’s football team won three Super Bowls throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
By the time the Commanders moved to Prince George’s County, Maryland, the team that everyone in the D.C. metropolitan area knew and loved had its best years behind it. For more than 30 years, the Commanders couldn’t get anywhere close to a Super Bowl. Jayden Daniels’ ascent as a star quarterback last season came after the franchise’s pandemic-era name change and Harris’ purchase of the team from Dan Snyder.
On Monday, those who converged on the ballroom of the National Press Club to witness this historic moment included: D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry; former D.C. Councilmember Yvette Alexander; D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee; Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah; Events DC President and Chief Executive Officer Angie Gates; Federal City Council CEO and Executive Director Anthony Williams; Gibbs and current Commanders coach Dan Quinn; and former Washington Commanders quarterback Doug Williams.
Harris, a D.C. metropolitan area native and childhood Commanders fan, acknowledged Williams and other football legends in the space as he reflected on his upbringing as a football aficionado.
“I grew up watching the greats, whether it be Sonny Jurgensen, Billy Kilmer, Joe Theismann, Mark Rypien, the Hogs, Joe Gibbs, Art Monk and three Super Bowls,” Harris said. “That was the Washington that I remember. On Sundays, everything stopped. Everyone was glued to their TV or in the stadium and we’ve already seen a reawakening of that spirit, but we want to bring it back.”
Harris, reflecting the two-year journey he took with Bowser to achieve the stadium deal, said he wanted to build a “championship caliber” team, improve the fan experience, and leave a mark on the community.
“This project is about so much more than building a stadium,” Harris said. “It’s about a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a catalyst for long-term, transformational economic growth here in D.C. That means thousands of new jobs, billions of new tax revenue, thousands of new homes, partnerships with local businesses and the creation of about 90 acres of mixed-use development for our community.”
“And you know what? The city of Washington and the DMV deserve it.”
