By Mary Burke and Peter Riccio
WASHINGTON – The D.C. City Council voted 11-2 Wednesday evening in favor of constructing a new stadium complex on the site of the old RFK Stadium, clearing the way for the Washington Commanders to leave their current home in Landover.
The Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025 authorizes the “redevelopment and management” of the property on the Anacostia River, including the construction of a new stadium.
The stadium aspect of the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2030, allowing the team to leave its current home at Northwest Stadium, where it has played since 1997 — when it left RFK for the suburbs.
The council also has outlined other plans to develop the property, including building restaurants, retail, and around 5,000 housing units. The area around the RFK site is set to be finished by 2040.
“Fans of the team can rightly celebrate the return of the Commanders to the district as a major moment in our city’s proud history,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.
The council bill says the project gives the District “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to continue to revitalize the Anacostia Waterfront … and develop a vibrant, mixed-use development featuring community sports, professional sports, public recreation, public park space, and cultural amenities.”
Officials say it’s time ‘to move forward’ in Landover, as Commanders return to D.C.
Maryland and Prince George’s County officials had made a pitch to keep the team in Landover, putting together what Gov. Wes Moore (D) called “a very competitive offer” for the team’s owners last year. But as it became increasingly apparent that the Commanders were intent on leaving, Maryland officials began “responsibly preparing for the possibility of the Washington Commanders choosing to return to Washington,” Moore said in a statement in April.
Team owner Josh Harris signed a memorandum of understanding with Moore and Prince George’s Acting County Executive Tara H. Jackson in December that said the team would begin demolition of the Landover stadium within 90 days of playing its first game at a new stadium.
After demolition, the agreement calls on the team to work with state and county agencies to transform the 200-acre site into “a vibrant mixed-use development,” to include residential, retail “and other allowable uses.”
In Washington, the Commanders will contribute at least $2.7 billion to the development of the RFK project, as well as the full cost to build the stadium itself, which is currently estimated to cost below $500 million.
Plans call for the new stadium to have a transparent roof and capacity for up to 65,000 fans, just slightly smaller than the 67,617 who can be accommodated at Northwest Stadium (formerly FedEx Field).
Jurisdiction over the 180-acre property was transferred to the District in January following a decade-long effort to absorb the land from the federal government.
The last NFL game played in RFK Stadium took place Dec. 22, 1996. The stadium was used in the following years for other sports events and entertainment. It has been fully closed to the public since 2019.
– Capital News Service is a student-staffed reporting service operated by the University of Maryland’s Phillip Merrill College of Journalism. Stories are available at the CNS site and may be reprinted as long as credit is given to Capital News Service and, most importantly, to the students who produced the work.
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