President Joe Biden signed a bill giving D.C. control of the RFK Stadium campus into law on Monday, solidifying a generational redevelopment opportunity for the city and opening up the possibility of returning the Washington Commanders to the site.
By Meagan Flynn
In a statement celebrating Biden’s move, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who attended the bill signing ceremony at the White House, said it was a “good day for DC when we finally have control of our destiny at the RFK campus.”
Now that D.C. controls the site, Bowser will formally be able to negotiate with the Washington Commanders ownership as D.C. competes with Maryland — where the team now plays, at Northwest Stadium in Landover — for a chance to build the next Commanders stadium. Bowser has long argued they belong at their old home at RFK Stadium, and while principal owner Josh Harris has not expressed a clear preference, he has previously called RFK the team’s “spiritual home.”
Commanders ownership attended the bill signing at the White House as well. The team cheered the enactment of the RFK bill on X, saying D.C. could “finally move forward on a new vision” for the site.
“We look forward to being a part of that conversation as we evaluate a future home for the Washington Commanders,” their statement said.
For now, RFK Stadium is a rusting shell awaiting demolition. The city will now begin working with the federal government to complete the RFK transfer, which is expected to take place within 180 days. First, D.C. will conduct a survey of the land. Next, D.C. and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior will develop terms and conditions and sign a memorandum of understanding. D.C. will bear all of the costs associated with the transfer, though the city will not have to pay for the land itself.
To get the bill across the finish line, Bowser and D.C.’s allies in Congress negotiated with the bill’s most ardent opponents to ensure that not a single senator would object to the bill, which passed by unanimous consent in the Senate.
(The Washington Post)
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As part of those negotiations, according to Bowser administration officials, she made a tentative agreement with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that if D.C. does ultimately build a stadium at the site, D.C. would agree to have the land beneath the stadium appraised. Based on the appraisal, the city would agree to make improvements of an equivalent value to National Park Service land in the District, which could still include the RFK site. Under the law, 30 percent of the RFK land must be set aside as park space.
That agreement must still be worked out with the federal government and could be part of the terms and conditions. Other terms are expected to include that D.C. can’t use federal funds to build a stadium; that the Anacostia riverbank and the wetlands near Kingman Island must remain protected and are off limits to development; that the city will improve public access to the Anacostia River Trail; and that D.C. will have adequate parking and security at the site.
Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which oversees D.C. in Congress, called passage of the RFK bill a “bipartisan success story.”
“The House Oversight Committee has a constitutional duty to oversee our nation’s capital city and this legislation shows how we are taking this responsibility seriously and doing our job,” Comer said in a statement applauding Biden’s signature on the bill. “If we failed, American taxpayers across the country would have continued to pay a fortune to maintain a decaying and vacant piece of land in Washington, D.C. Now, this land can be repurposed at no cost to the taxpayer to bring economic prosperity to the District.”
Any development plan for a stadium involving taxpayer money would need to be approved by the D.C. Council, which is split on the use of public funds for a football stadium — likely to be one of the biggest debates of 2025. A group called the No Billionaire’s Playground coalition, including groups and residents who oppose building a stadium, want to see housing and community needs prioritized at RFK, “rather than a hulking stadium used just a few days a year,” Niciah Mujahid, executive director of the Fair Budget Coalition, said in a statement last month.
Bowser on Monday stressed the city could “do it all” at the site.
“We are ready and optimistic about unlocking the full potential of this space,” she said, “and with more than 170 acres of land we can do it all — deliver housing, economic opportunity, green space, recreation, sports, and more.
