Scoop: Commanders to unveil new NFL stadium deal with D.C. on Monday
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The rusting RFK Stadium is being demolished. Photo: Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images
D.C. and the Washington Commanders will unveil on Monday morning a $3 billion deal to build a new football stadium at the RFK Stadium site, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The megaproject would jumpstart construction of a new residential and entertainment hub on waterfront real estate — and Mayor Muriel Bowser reportedly wants to kick in around $800 million in taxpayer dollars.
State of play: The announcement is planned for 11am at the National Press Club, two sources with knowledge who were not authorized to speak publicly tell Axios.
- Franchise owner Josh Harris plans to join Bowser at the unveiling, according to the official invitation.
The big picture: Bowser's office and the Commanders negotiated for months for a deal to bring the NFL back to the nation's capital. The pricetag was revealed in media coverage this month, though the full details are yet to be known.
Friction point: It's up to the D.C. Council to approve the deal. Many lawmakers oppose sinking public money into a stadium project.
- Not to mention the city's finances are in a funk due to federal job cuts and a Congressional-mandated budget cut. The city is expected to trim public services as it foresees a mild recession in the next fiscal year.
- "The D.C. treasury should not be paying toward a stadium," Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told the Washington Post recently.
- The mayor's team will likely argue the funds will be spent to upgrade the site's infrastructure, to support new residential, commercial and retail development — not just a stadium.
The Commanders and the mayor's office did not immediately return Axios' requests for comment.
Catch up fast: The deal follows last December's Hail Mary vote in Congress to give the city long-term planning authority over the 170-acre RFK site, which is federally owned.
- The franchise left RFK Stadium for the Maryland suburbs in 1996 after three Super Bowl wins. But it never caught the same magic at the current Northwest Stadium in Landover.
- Now the team is coming off its best regular season in 33 years with star quarterback Jayden Daniels. Harris wants to open the new stadium by 2030.
What we're watching: Whether Washington's most famous developer — Donald Trump — will want a piece of the project.
- The Trump administration might not have a direct role in the project, but groups like the National Capital Planning Commission can have design input. The president appoints three of the commissioners, all of whom are Biden appointees.
- And then there's Trump's words himself: Last week he said that "Redskins" is a "superior name" to the Commanders, though didn't go as far as to say the team should change the name before returning to D.C.