D.C. Council approves Commanders' stadium deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Commanders are going home.

The D.C. Council voted to approve a deal between the team and the city, paving the way for the franchise to return to the district.

The council voted 9-3 -- it needed a two-thirds majority -- to approve plans for a football stadium at the site where the franchise enjoyed its best days.

The council must vote again on this measure Sept. 17, but multiple sources involved in the process said the team has been told it can proceed with its plans after Friday's vote knowing the second vote is expected to have the same result.

Washington announced a deal with the city to build a stadium at the site where RFK Stadium -- its home from 1961 to 1996 -- still sits. The 174-acre property will become a mixed-use facility with housing developments, a sports complex and retail shops.

"This is a historic moment," Commanders owner Josh Harris said. "This project is about more than delivering a world-class stadium worthy of our players, fans and the region. It's about revitalizing a critical part of our city, creating thousands of jobs and unlocking long-term economic benefits for the District. We look forward to working with our fans, residents, community leaders and elected officials to deliver on this vision."

After the vote, cheers erupted from one corner of the room -- where D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and some of her staff members were seated. The cheering and clapping lasted for several minutes at the end of what turned out to be a nearly three-hour session in which council members debated amendments and then each one laid out their support or disapproval of the project.

"I didn't start out cheering for the team, but I attended the Super Bowl parades, I remember the winning ways and it's time to get back to that," council member Kenyon McDuffie said. "This deal is important because it strengthens the opportunity for our residents and small businesses to participate in the economic growth that will occur."

The mayor and team officials still cautioned there was another vote to take place, but the Commanders can now start doing things such as surveying the land, taking a look at utility work and mapping out their construction needs.

"This is an iconic moment for the city and something we'll all look back in decades later and be proud to be part of it," said council member Brooke Pinto, who voted in favor of the bill.

The Commanders will invest $2.7 billion to build the stadium -- and cover the cost overruns -- while the district will contribute $1 billion. The team has long targeted 2030 as the year a stadium must open, in large part so it could host big events such as the Women's World Cup in 2031.

Bowser told ESPN last month that she feels "very good" about the stadium being opened by then and added, "I think it could go faster."

Bowser said the team could start infrastructure work the "early part of next year and get shovels in the ground this time next year."

The stadium will be domed, and while they haven't ruled out a retractable roof, the cost of one -- plus the possible returns -- likely will make that prohibitive, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

The Commanders had considered staying at their current home in Landover, Maryland, but Harris and his staff focused first on returning to RFK. The team will continue to train at its Ashburn, Virginia, facility and have team headquarters in College Park, Maryland. Harris has said he wants to represent all of the "DMV" -- District, Maryland and Virginia.

But RFK has always been the sentimental site for fans of the franchise -- Harris grew up in the area as a fan of the team and used to attend games at this stadium. From 1972 to 1992, Washington played in five Super Bowls and won three and endured only two losing seasons. RFK became a distinct home-field advantage, with its intimate setting and some movable stands that fans could bounce.

But former owner Jack Kent Cooke could not get a new stadium built in the district and paid for the current one to be built in Maryland. Since opening the suburban stadium in 1997, the organization has posted only eight winning seasons and reached the postseason seven times. Washington went 12-5 last season and reached the NFC Championship Game, where it lost to Philadelphia.

Returning to the district was a long shot just two-plus years ago, with multiple sources at the time considering it a distant third behind sites in Maryland and Virginia. But a key series of events followed: Dan Snyder putting the team up for sale; Harris buying it in July 2023; and Congress leasing the federal land to the district for the next 99 years.

There were also last-minute deals struck with council members. Council chairman Phil Mendelson said in a news conference last week that renegotiated terms would net around $779 million for the city over 30 years -- that could come from revenue and/or from savings on other costs.

Parking revenue also got renegotiated, with the district now able to levy an 18% tax -- as it has at its other parking garages. That money will be used for stadium upkeep.

Bowser impressed upon the council that the city will benefit immediately from a stadium being built because of instant job creation. A council budget office study stated that a new stadium will result in economic benefits six years earlier than a mixed-use development will generate.

Some members feared what would happen if there was a no vote. No other private investor has come forward with another proposal for the property.

"The alternative is we're still talking about this in 10 years," one member said.