The public loves the Commanders stadium design
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The new Commanders stadium renderings have D.C. chattering, but the real test will come before a design commission with line-by-line say over the project.
What we're hearing: In our (admittedly unscientific) survey of Axios D.C. readers, 75% of you said you love the design.
Zoom in: "As a diehard fan we couldn't ask for anything better," said one respondent. "Incredibly clean design while keeping with the D.C. monument vibes."
- And you have ideas! "The renderings check all the boxes, I love it. I'm wondering if with the transparent dome roof they'd do something unprecedented in stadium designs. I'm thinking fill the roof with LED lights and when the home team scores a touchdown, it could light up in burgundy and gold or something cooler."
The other side: Five percent of you are thumbs-down.
- 11% went with: "Interesting. It looks like a football monument…or the Mormon Temple…"
Your hot takes: "It looks like a cake that fell."
- Another said it looks like a mausoleum.
- "Play your football games outdoors you cowards!" one anti-dome fan said.
Speaking of, the New York Times commented the roof looks like a Pringle… Pringle-Dome?
What's ahead: The National Planning Commission meets Feb. 5 to discuss the designs.
- Its Trump-appointed chairman made waves in December when he called for the design to incorporate classical elements.
- To many eyes, architect HKS satisfied those demands with a facade of white columns that seem to rise from the ground. Architecture experts who spoke to Axios last week compared the design to a fresh, airy monumental addition to D.C. that takes inspiration from the swooping facade of the old RFK Stadium.
- But it's not Roman enough for classical architect boosters like Justin Shubow, who in a Wall Street Journal op-ed panned the "uninspired" facade as "lamely alluding to classical columns," advocating for it to look more like the Los Angeles Coliseum.
- If NCPC chairman Will Scharf agrees, those criticisms could be a playbook for seeking design revisions.
The NCPC wields granular control over major projects in the capital, dictating everything from building material to tree plantings.
What they're saying: In its submission to the NCPC, the Commanders say "the architecture balances strength with openness, tradition with innovation, and monumentality with human scale."