The NFL’s Washington Commanders have agreed to a deal with the District of Columbia that will result in creation of a nearly $4 billion, 65,000-seat stadium on the site of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium.
According to combined media reports, the stadium is slated to open in 2030. The team is contracted to play at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, into the 2027 season, although the team can stay at that venue until a new stadium is opened.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser offered a plan that will include a stadium, housing, parking facility, hotels and retail space on the 174-acre site. Under the terms of the deal, the Commanders are contributing $2.7 billion and the city would invest roughly $1.1 billion over the next eight years. The DC Council must give its approval for using taxpayer money for such a project to proceed.
“This land has been blighted and underutilized for too long,” Bowser said. “What our deal with the Washington Commanders provides is the fastest and surest route to developing the RFK campus, and not just delivering sports and entertainment, but delivering housing, jobs, recreation and economic development.”
Structural demolition began in January at RFK Stadium, which has not been used since 2019. The National Park Service approved its demolition last spring, and the DC Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act that was signed into law in late December transferred the ownership of the stadium site from the federal government to the District of Columbia for a 99-year period.
Photo courtesy of the Washington Commanders
