Commanders fear delay of RFK Stadium amid council limbo

Friction point: Council Chair Phil Mendelson says that deadline won't be met, and that lawmakers will have more to say after they receive an outside commissioned sports study on the project. The other two studies in the works:

• an economic analysis from the council's budget office
• and the D.C. Chief Financial Officer's report on the city's proposed tax breaks.

Public hearings are set for late July, Mendelson said.

• The council is expected to break in August, so final approval will likely stretch into September or even October.

The other side: "We feel real urgency that we need to have a decision from the council as quickly as possible to stay on a 2030 track," Andy VanHorn, head of real estate for the Commanders, tells Axios in an interview.

• "If we slip past August," he adds, "it gets more like a 2031 delivery, because we have to be moving utilities mid to early next year."

The big picture: Mendelson said last week he wants improvements to the deal Bowser made with the team.

• Such as: Deadlines for construction of affordable housing, which is meant to comprise 30% of the roughly 6,000 units envisioned for the site.

Between the lines: Mendelson is keeping mum on his most specific requests before the council receives the three reports.

The intrigue: The Commanders last week wined-and-dined D.C. Council members at Cafe Milano.