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John Keim, ESPN writer
A week full of wild swings in the Washington Commanders’ pursuit of a D.C. stadium ended with another twist, and what one person involved called a Hail Mary, raising the likelihood the team will return to the city.
Early Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill that would allow the federal government to lease more than 170 acres of land to the district on the site where RFK Stadium resides. It greatly increases the chances of the Commanders building a new stadium on the site, although there are still more hurdles before that becomes a reality.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said the district plans to build more housing and a recreation center on the land. She has been aggressive in her pursuit of the Commanders, who have been searching for a new stadium site for several years.
“This is a win for DC, for our region, and for America,” Bowser posted on X. “Everyone loves a good comeback story, and that’s DC’s story. #OurRFK.”
The first step toward a new stadium in DC was for the federal government to lease the land to the city for another 99 years. The district has another 14 years on its current lease, but that was not enough time to secure the necessary funding for the projects.
On Tuesday, a provision to transfer the land was included in a continuing resolution spending bill before Congress, fueling hopes that Washington would pursue a stadium in the district. Those hopes were dashed when the provision was removed Thursday. Although that bill did not pass, a new one was passed on Friday that still excluded this transfer provision.
That left commanders and the district mulling over the next step that could have included waiting until Congress returned for a new session. Instead, the Senate passed the bill around 1:15 a.m. Saturday. The bill, which the House passed in February, has yet to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials came together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, DC the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “This bill will create a level playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and provide our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”
The NFL called the vote “an important development” in a statement, adding: “Washington, DC, will now have a long-overdue seat at the table when it comes to the location of a new Commanders Stadium.”
There is no federal funding involved in the bill. On Wednesday, Elon Musk, an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, reposted misinformation about X that included a headline saying Congress was giving the district $3 billion to build a stadium. That led to a rebuke from Bowser for a bill that was always just about extending the lease.
Now that the provision has passed the Senate, Bowser can begin negotiating with the Commanders about a stadium. Washington played at RFK Stadium from 1961 to 1996 before moving to Maryland.
The organization played in five Super Bowls and won three while playing at the RFK site, fueling an emotional bond among the fan base that endures. It has been the preferred destination for the Commanders and Harris, who grew up a fan of the franchise and purchased the team from Dan Snyder in July 2023.
Bowser told ESPN earlier this month that “a lot of objections were raised to the previous owners and the direction they took the team. That’s almost forgotten, I would say. The spirit of winning is good, too.”
Washington has a contract with Maryland to play at Northwest Stadium through the beginning of the 2027 season, but because the team owns the stadium and the land, it can extend the agreement until a new stadium is built. Harris has said he would like to have a new stadium by 2030.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has repeatedly expressed his desire for the team to remain in Landover, so there is no guarantee the Commanders will leave, although one source said the odds for the district have increased considerably.
Still, any deal with the city involving public funds must be approved by the D.C. Council, which has been divided on the issue in the past.
The commanders previously provided Maryland senators with a written guarantee that they would develop the 200 acres of land they own in Landover, Maryland, the site of their current stadium, if they actually leave. That helped persuade Maryland senators to grant approval, a necessary step.
The bill was the product of Bowser and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., working together to build support.
“The Senate’s passage of DC’s RFK Stadium Campus Revitalization Act is a historic moment for our nation’s capital,” Comer said in a statement. “If Congress did not act today, maintaining this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune. Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been one of the city’s top economic priorities, and I am proud to have partnered with the mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and onto the President’s desk.”
The news continues a season of revitalization for the franchise. The Commanders are 9-5 and currently occupy the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoffs. They have found a young quarterback in rookie Jayden Daniels to build around with an energetic coach in Dan Quinn and a revamped front office led by general manager Adam Peters.
In fact, it was Daniels who completed the team’s first Hail Mary this season with a 52-yard throw on the final play of the game against the Chicago Bears in October.
On Saturday morning they received another one.
