I stood in a sea of burgundy and gold pom-poms outside the Wilson Building this week, cheering with Mayor Muriel Bowser at a rally to “bring our team home.” As a lifelong fan, I share the excitement. The Washington Commanders belong in D.C. — it’s their historical home, and ours. Just a day earlier, I watched NFL legend Darrell Green lead a youth camp at our community center in Southwest. Seeing our kids run drills with a Hall of Famer — a man whose career on and off the field embodied the grit and pride of this city — reminded me what this team means to us. I grew up watching Skins games with my dad, and those afternoons are some of the last memories I have with him. Football in D.C. isn’t just a game; it’s part of our cultural fabric.
But as much as my heart says “Welcome Home!,” my head is clear: we cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes that have defined D.C. redevelopment for the last three decades. We’ve seen stadiums, luxury apartments, and entertainment districts rise in this city, often on the backs of promises that never reach the people who live next door. I know this personally. I see it every day. GOODProjects, the nonprofit I lead, works in the Southwest public housing community — a tight-knit body of neighbors that live between Nationals Park, Audi Field, The Wharf, Navy Yard, and the soon-to-be redeveloped Buzzard Point. Billions of dollars have poured into these developments, yet there is still no clear, enforceable plan to reinvest in these families who’ve kept this community vibrant for two hundred years. Where are the resources for the people who’ve been here through it all? Where are the jobs, the ownership opportunities, the affordable housing guarantees?
The RFK Stadium redevelopment cannot become another chapter in the story of our city — the story of big business cashing out while D.C. residents furthest from opportunity are pushed closer to the margins. This is bigger than a Super Bowl. Earlier this year, we nearly lost critical funding at the Congressional level, a fight that consumed our city leadership and grassroots advocates alike. We won that battle, while simultaneously turning around and handing Monumental Sports more than $500 million to renovate the arena for the Wizards — a team that hasn’t shown much effort on the court or in our neighborhoods #GoCaps. Now we are poised to do something similar for the Commanders. As much as I want the Burgundy and Gold back where they belong, we cannot continue giving away public dollars without enforceable, long-term returns for the people of D.C.
The deal on the table is better than what was originally proposed, thanks to the Mayor and D.C. Council pushing for changes. The city will now retain some stadium-generated revenue, the Commanders will cover any overages, and there’s a $50 million community benefits agreement being proposed. But a CBA is only as good as its enforcement — and history of development of all types in this city shows us that vague commitments rarely translate into meaningful impact.
Even with the new recommendations recently approved by the Ward 7 Community Advisory Board, too much is still missing. There’s no enforcement mechanism. No long-term structure to sustain investment. No direct line of funding for public housing communities like what happened in Southwest D.C. — which sits squarely in the shadow of nearly every major stadium and development in this city. There is no plan to ensure returning citizens — many of whom are released just blocks away from RFK — are included in workforce pipelines. No mention of a Business Improvement District, even though every other stadium in D.C. sits in one.
If this project is going to move forward, it must be tied to clear, measurable obligations for affordable housing, job creation, local contracting, and business support that specifically benefit Wards 6, 7, and 8.
Housing is where we must start. The plan includes 6,000 new units, with 30% designated as affordable. That’s a step — but “affordable” in D.C. too often means unaffordable for families earning $50,000 or less. We need deeper affordability, including units for households at or below 30% of area median income, and we need guarantees that those units remain affordable for at least as long as the Commanders don’t have to pay rent or property taxes. Equal property tax relief must also be extended to longtime homeowners around the RFK site and East of the River so they can stay in the neighborhoods they’ve built.
Next, we need sustained economic reinvestment. A BID at RFK would provide a recurring stream of resources for small businesses, public safety, and job training. This model has worked across the city, from shining examples of the SWBID to the Capital Riverfront BID. Why should Ward 7 be left out of that long-term structure?
And that $50 million community fund? It cannot be treated as a symbolic payout. It must be managed transparently through fiduciaries. An example is CareFirst’s $95 million dollar Health Equity Fund administered by Greater Washington Community Foundation. This ensures real community oversight and a clear investment strategy that improves local health outcomes for children and families. The Commanders ownership’s commitment of $50 million must be stewarded to build the wealth of longtime residents and capacity of businesses for years to come — not just in programming, but in ownership and power in the city.
I want the Commanders back in D.C. — not just for me, but for every kid who will make their first football memory with this team. I want to bring my own children to RFK one day and tell them about watching Darrell Green race down the field or about the Sundays I spent with my dad. But I also want to know that we didn’t mortgage our city’s future simply for nostalgia. We can have both: a winning team with Scary Terry and a winning city. But only if we demand it from Mayor Bowser, the D.C. Council and team ownership.
The Commanders are coming home. That doesn’t mean goodbye to our community.