WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The U.S. Senate has passed a resolution that could pave the way for the Washington Commanders to return to the District.
The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed the Senate without amendment by voice vote overnight on Saturday, Dec. 21.
If signed into law by President Joe Biden, control of the land where RFK Stadium sits would be transferred from the National Park Service to the District of Columbia.
D.C. would then have the opportunity to redevelop the dilapidated site, which has sat empty since 2019. The RFK land provision was initially included in a proposed Congressional spending plan but was removed following criticism from Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump.
One widely discussed option for the stadium’s redevelopment is its designation as a new home for the Commanders football team.
Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., is the current home for the Commanders. The stadium, previously known as FedEx Field, began hosting the Commanders’ home games in 1997.
The managing partner for the Commanders, Josh Harris, expressed his gratitude regarding the bill’s passage:
We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington D.C. the opportunity to decide the future on the RFK stadium site. This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all our fans.”
Josh Harris, Washington Commanders
Other leaders in the D.C. area also expressed their support.
“This is a win for D.C., for our region, and for America,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in an X post. “Everybody loves a good comeback story- and that’s D.C.’s story.”
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) called its passage a “victory.”
“D.C. has scored a victory in its fight for self-determination just in time for the holidays,” she said. “When the bill is signed into law by President Biden, D.C. will get to decide for itself what to do with the largest unused tract of land remaining in the District. I look forward to seeing the site transformed from crumbling blight to a productive and bustling complex that will generate significant revenue for the nation’s capital.”
However, not everyone was happy to see the legislation head to Biden’s desk.
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) spoke out against the situation, making a case to keep the Commanders in Maryland.
Maryland should have the chance to compete to keep the Commanders here.
I opposed this bill in the House, and I oppose it today, because federal taxpayers should not be required to subsidize an NFL stadium by offering a 99-year lease of the RFK campus for free. That’s not fair to the taxpayers, and it’s not fair to Maryland because it undermines Maryland’s chance to compete on a level playing field.
But we can still win. Our site offers two nearby Metro stations, superior highway access, and a larger campus for parking. Now that the Dan Snyder era is over and the Harris team has brought winning football back to the DMV, a state-of-the-art indoor stadium would jumpstart redevelopment in the area and trigger property appreciation in short order. In addition to the ten games or so the Commanders play, the stadium could be used year-round for events like the Final Four and music concerts. Working closely with the Harris team–which owns much of the land around the stadium–we could create an economic win-win that would benefit the community, the region, the team, and the fans.
Maryland looks forward to working with the Harris team to make that vision a reality.”
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD)
The bill “prohibits the use of federal funds for stadium purposes,” according to its summary.
