Commanders and D.C. in talks over how to redevelop RFK Stadium site

What we're watching: Whether both sides can have an agreement by April, before Mayor Muriel Bowser submits next fiscal year's budget proposal to the D.C. Council.

• Last week, the Bowser administration and the National Park Service signed the official documents to hand over jurisdiction of the RFK Stadium site land from the federal government to the District.
• The Commanders have not made a final decision on returning to the District. Maryland is still on the table, and the team owns the land under Northwest Stadium in Landover.

But let's look at what it will take to redevelop the RFK Stadium site:

Step 1. The D.C. Council will sign off on the transfer, once Mayor Bowser forwards it, which she expects to complete this week.

• If so, the council can act on it as soon as next Tuesday.
• But these are still baby steps: "It won't be the last thing related to RFK, I can assure you on that," Bowser told reporters on Monday.

Step 2. The rusting RFK Stadium structure will be demolished, a process that ramped up this month and could take a year.

Step 3. The Commanders and the Bowser administration are privately negotiating terms.

• See: The dealmaking that occurred between Bowser and Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Capitals and Wizards, for the modernization of Capital One Arena.
• The Commanders and Bowser's team will agree on stadium priorities. (Dome or no dome? How much parking? How does it connect with the Metro station?)
• And it'll come down to money. How much will the Bowser administration propose to spend on preparing the land's infrastructure? What tax breaks or public financing will be offered to bring the football team back to D.C.?

Step 4. The D.C. Council will have the final say.

• If and when the Bowser administration and the Commanders reach an agreement, the terms will be subject to the council's approval.
• Lawmakers will be able to drill deep into any financing or public money proposed for the construction of a stadium.

This is an outline of what to expect — with the caveat that we don't know the timeline and we don't know how many times the Commanders and the city might go back and forth over terms.

• Team owner Josh Harris had previously said 2030 was a "reasonable target" for a new stadium.

The intrigue: New concept designs are stirring the public's imagination.

• One architect envisions a futuristic football stadium, surrounded by a cluster of new waterfront residences and a pedestrian pathway on the Anacostia River. The images, which were not commissioned by the District or the franchise, offer a glimpse into a potential future.

The designs picture a roughly 70,000-seat football stadium with a transparent dome and sleek curves. There's a video, too.

• A neighborhood with 2,000 housing units and new retail and public spaces are adjacent to the stadium. Sports fields and recreation space are on the other side. There's a combo of underground and multilevel parking garages. (FYI: Most people I've talked to about the stadium do not expect much space for classic tailgating.)
• New public gathering points are envisioned on the banks of the Anacostia River.

"It's not just about going to the site for the game-day experience, but it also can be an amazing place to live and work," Kyle Murphy, a Virginia Tech graduate who founded Kato Design, tells Axios.

• It's in line with what Bowser wants. A stadium plus a waterfront district akin to The Wharf.

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