The D.C. Council is set to vote Aug. 1 on revised legislation that could allow the Washington Commanders to return to the site of their former home at RFK Stadium, Chairman Phil Mendelson announced Thursday, describing the updated proposal as a win for the city and its residents.
The updated plan would support a $3.7 billion redevelopment project featuring a new stadium, 6,000 housing units — including 1,800 designated as affordable — and retail space and parkland across the 174-acre RFK campus.
Mendelson’s statement comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to block federal support for the stadium project unless the team reverted to its former name, “Redskins.” He called the “Commanders” name “ridiculous.”
Under the revised proposal, Mendelson’s office estimates, the redevelopment could generate $26.6 billion in tax revenue over 30 years. The District would contribute $1 billion toward the stadium project, while the team would fund the remaining $2.7 billion.
“It’s clear that the Commanders showed through their negotiations their commitment to the District,” Mendelson said. “The process has been extremely productive, and they’ve been a cooperative partner.”
Commanders team president Mark Clouse — whose club opened training camp in Virginia this week — welcomed the Council’s timeline.
“We are thrilled the Council will vote to hopefully support this project on August 1,” Clouse said in a statement. “With today’s announcement, the opportunity to bring the team back to its spiritual home and revitalize a critical part of the nation’s capital is one step closer.”
The Commanders currently play at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, but aim to open a new venue in 2030.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who negotiated the original plan with Commanders owner Josh Harris in April, praised the new framework as “the most important economic development project in the history of Washington, D.C.”
Momentum for the site’s redevelopment accelerated after the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, approved a lease that gave the city control over the long-dormant RFK area.
“It is time to unlock the city’s full economic potential,” said Comer’s chief of staff, Austin Hacker. “Congress empowered District leaders with the responsibility to revitalize the long-neglected and deteriorating RFK Memorial Stadium campus in our nation’s capital.”
The ownership group led by Harris has been considering locations in Washington, Maryland and Virginia since buying the team from Dan Snyder in 2022. The most recent progress 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.
That paved the way for making it possible to tear down the decaying husk of the old stadium and replace it with a mixed-use development, including the new playing field for the Commanders.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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