Wine ‘em, dine ‘em. Get their votes. (‘Em.)
On Monday night, Commanders leadership held a dinner for the members of the D.C. Council to discuss the stadium deal on which the Council eventually vote.
Via WUSA9, roughly six members of D.C. Council [attended the dinner](https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/investigations/commanders-stadium/washington-commanders-rfk-stadium-deal-council-chair-phil-mendelson-wendell-felder-matthew-frumin/65-0473bb42-3503-4d42-8f64-d8c8d88f161a) at Milano’s, an “upscale” spot in Georgetown. (There was a quaint time in American history when activities like this would include a discussion as to whether any ethics rules had or hadn’t been violated.)
The team needs seven to say “yes.” Currently, they have four.
Per the report, a small group of protestors gathered outside, with signs urging the Commanders to pay for their own stadium.
The Commanders want to move things along, so that the stadium will be ready to go in 2030. D.C. Council has been proceeding on its own timeline.
“Frankly, a big reason I’m here is to reiterate that we need some time to do this,” Ward 3 Council member Matthew Frumin said. “We’re in the middle of the budget process, there’s a ton going on.”
Public hearings are set for July 29 and July 30. Then, D.C. Council will be in recess until the middle of September. D.C. Council chair Phil Mendelson will not commit to a prompt vote when the group returns to work.
The deal between the team and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has a timeline premised on approval by D.C. Council by July 15. Barring an unexpected development, that won’t be happening.
The current pressure point for getting the deal done quickly is to position D.C. to host matches during the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. For the team, the sooner they get their new stadium, the sooner they get out of the dilapidated building in which they now play.