When the Washington Commanders and the D.C. government announced a historic deal to bring the Commanders home to the RFK Stadium site, they set a July 15 deadline. But a back and forth between the mayor and the Council threatened to set the timeline back.
The D.C. Council unveiled legislation aimed at debating the deal outside from talks about the city’s 2026 budget.
“No one should infer from the introduction of this bill that funding in the Mayor’s proposed budget for the Washington Commanders Football Team is in jeopardy,” Council Chair Phil Mendelson said in the bill’s introduction. “Council members have said they support leaving the funding, as proposed by the Mayor, in the budget.”
Mendelson introduced the “Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025” on June 20, which separates the RFK bill from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s “Budget Support Act.”
The main goals of the bill are to allow the council to hold public hearings singularly focused on the proposal and complete an economic impact analysis report by July. NBC Washington reported earlier this month that there was discussion about removing the stadium from budget talks.
The team’s goal is to be playing football by 2030 at the old RFK site.
For this to be a reality, a team spokesperson stressed to WTOP the importance of getting this done without delay and the team is hopeful the council will continue to expedite the process.
In response to the new bill, the Commanders spokesperson said the team is committed to working with the council.
“This is about more than just a stadium: it’s an investment in families, local workers, and long-term economic opportunity that will transform this community, District, and the region. Any substantive delays … will slow new jobs at a time when the District needs them the most. We are hopeful the Council will continue to work in an expedited way to approve this deal and deliver a significant win for the people of D.C.,” the spokesperson wrote.
When asked about possibly opening up negotiations with other jurisdictions if there is no vote in July, a person familiar with the situation said that the team does not want to think about that at all, and are focused solely on Washington, D.C.
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