For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
A Senate panel passed a bill Tuesday morning that opens a path for the Washington Commanders to return to D.C. at a new facility at the site of the old RFK stadium.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the bill 17-2 to transfer federal land around RFK stadium to the District and to allow for development around the stadium site.
The bill has bipartisan support and still needs to be approved by the full Senate. If that doesn’t happen in the lame duck session, a new legislative effort will have to begin in 2025.
After the vote concluded, Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the committee’s chairman, said, “Let’s go, Commanders!”
The deal has the support of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the House also passed the bill earlier this year.
“Today’s vote marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to unlock the potential of the RFK Campus,” Bowser said in a statement.
But Maryland’s congressional delegation and Gov. Wes Moore oppose efforts to move the Commanders from their state to the District.
The Commanders moved to Landover in 1997 and the team’s lease expires in 2027.
Virginia has also made efforts to attract the team to the commonwealth, where they have a practice facility.
The legislation that advanced Tuesday had been held up by Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who had urged the team to do more to honor the legacy of its original logo.
The logo was created by a Native American family in Montana.
Daines said he spoke Tuesday morning with the family of Walter “Blackie” Wetzel, the man who inspired what he called an “iconic logo.”
“There’s good faith negotiation going on. There’s trust being built,” Daines said of discussions between the family and the Commanders.
Daines notes there’s “great pride in this logo” and the family wants to see it honored. The logo is a portrait of Blackfoot Chief John Two Guns White Calf.
The team retired its original name and logo in 2020.
As for the old RFK stadium, it has been deteriorating for years and will ultimately be scheduled for demolition. The Commanders’ lease at Northwest Stadium ends in 2027.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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