Late Senate vote approves RFK site plan as commanders pursue stadium

Late Senate vote approves RFK site plan as commanders pursue stadium

A week of wild swings in the Washington Commanders’ pursuit of a stadium in the District of Columbia ended with another twist — and a person calling it a “Hail Mary” — that increases the likelihood of the team returning to the city .

Early Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan bill that would allow the federal government to lease more than 170 acres of land to the county on the site where RFK Stadium is located. This greatly increases the commanders’ chances of building a new stadium at this location, although there are still more hurdles to overcome before this becomes a reality.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the district plans to build more housing and a recreation center on the site. It is aggressively pursuing the commanders, who have been looking for a new stadium site for several years.

“This is a victory for DC, for our region and for America,” Bowser posted on X. “Everyone loves a good comeback story – and this is the DC story. #OurRFK”

The first step toward a new stadium in D.C. was for the federal government to lease the site back to the city for another 99 years. The district’s current lease runs for 14 years, but that hasn’t been long enough to secure the necessary funding for projects.

On Tuesday, a provision to transfer the property was included in a current budget bill before Congress, boosting Washington’s hopes for a stadium in the District. Those hopes were dashed when the provision was repealed Thursday. Although this bill did not pass, a new bill was passed on Friday that still excluded this carryover provision.

That led commanders and the district to consider a next step, which could have been to wait until Congress returned for a new session. Instead, the Senate passed the bill around 1:15 a.m. Saturday. The bill, which the House of Representatives passed in February, still needs to be signed by President Joe Biden.

“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington DC the opportunity to decide the future of the RFK Stadium site,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “This bill will level the playing field so that all potential future sites for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”

The NFL called the vote “a major breakthrough” in a statement, adding: “Washington, D.C., will now have a long-overdue seat at the table when it comes to the location of a new Commanders Stadium.”

The bill does not provide for federal funding. On Wednesday, Elon Musk, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, posted on This led to a rebuke from Bowser over a bill that was all about lease extensions.

Now that the provision has been passed in the Senate, Bowser can negotiate with the commanders about a stadium. Washington played at RFK Stadium from 1961 to 1996 before moving to Maryland.

The organization participated in five Super Bowls and won three while playing at the RFK facility, creating an emotional bond among the fan base that has endured. It was the preferred destination of the Commanders and Harris, who grew up a fan of the franchise and purchased the team from Dan Snyder in July 2023.

Bowser told ESPN earlier this month: “A lot of objections have been raised about the previous owners and the direction they took the team. It’s almost forgotten, I would say. The winning spirit is good too.”

Washington has a contract with Maryland to play at Northwest Stadium through the start of the 2027 season, but because the team owns the stadium and property, it can extend the contract until a new stadium is built. Harris has said he wants to have a new stadium by 2030.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has repeatedly expressed his desire for the team to remain in Landover, so there’s no guarantee the commanders will leave – although a source said the district’s chances have risen sharply be.

Still, any deal with the city involving public money must be approved by the D.C. Council, which has historically been divided on the issue.

Commanders had previously given the Maryland senators written assurances that if they actually left the stadium, they would develop the 200 acres of land they own in Landover, Maryland, the site of their current stadium. This helped convince Maryland senators to give their approval, a necessary step.

The bill was a product of Bowser and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., working together to win support.

“The Senate’s passage of the DC RFK Stadium Campus Revitalization Act is a historic moment for our nation’s capital,” Comer said in a statement. “If Congress did not act today, maintaining this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune. Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been the city’s top economic priority, and I am proud to have worked with DC Mayor Muriel.” Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the President’s desk bring.”

The news continues a season of revival for the franchise. The Commanders are 9-5 and currently occupy the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC. They’ve found a young quarterback to develop in rookie Jayden Daniels, with an energetic coach in Dan Quinn and a revamped front office led by general manager Adam Peters.

In fact, it was Daniels who completed the team’s first Hail Mary of the season with a 52-yard throw on the final play of the game against the Chicago Bears in October.

On Saturday morning they received another one.

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