RFK Bill set stage for Commanders’ homecoming

Image: @Commanders on X

The President of the United States Joe Biden signed into law a Bill on January 6th that transfers the land that includes the old RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., from the Federal Government to City control, the next step to potentially pave the way for the National Football League (NFL) team Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital.

‘AP’ stated that giving the District of Columbia control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and the surrounding entertainment options at the franchise’s former home.

The 56,692-capacity Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as the RFK Stadium and originally known as the District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multipurpose stadium in Washington, D.C. (US). It once served as the home arena of the NFL team Washington Commanders.

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington Metropolitan area (US). The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference East Division.

The Northwest Stadium is an American football stadium in Landover, Maryland (US) located five miles East of Washington, D.C. It is the home stadium of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 until 2010, it had the NFL’s largest seating capacity at 91,000. It currently seats 62,000.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league composed of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

‘AP’ further stated that the Owners of the Washington Commanders Josh Harris, Mitch Rales and Mark Ein and the Mayor of Washington, D.C. Muriel Bowser stood behind Biden at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office when he signed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act.

The Commanders in a statement said it was a big win for the City and its residents – “Washington can finally move forward on a new vision for the RFK site. We look forward to being a part of that conversation as we evaluate a future home for the Washington Commanders.”

Mayor Bowser called the above moment “the results of years of tireless and strategic advocacy, extraordinary collaboration and bipartisan leadership. It is a good day for D.C. when we finally have control of our own destiny at the RFK campus. We are ready and optimistic about unlocking the full potential of this space and with more than 170 acres of land we can do it all – deliver housing, economic opportunity, green space, recreation, sports, and more.”

The resolution made it through Congress in the early-morning hours of December 21^st, 2024 just before the holiday recess after it was removed from the year-end spending Bill in a twist that threatened the efforts by Mayor Bowser and others made over the last 18 months. The Controlling Owner of the Commanders Harris and the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied lawmakers in Capitol Hill in early December last year in support of the measure.

Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are also considering other places in the district, Maryland and Virginia, to build a stadium in the coming years.

Their lease at the Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at the RFK Stadium, two miles (3.22 kilometers) East of the Capitol, from 1961-1996 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several Co-Owners, including Rales and Ein, grew up as Washington Commanders football fans during that era which included the glory days of three Super Bowl (the annual league championship game of the NFL) championships from 1982-1991.

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