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After Tuesday’s public hearing that stretched for over five hours, the D.C. Council is back in session Wednesday, to hear from the Washington Commanders and the mayor’s office about a deal to bring the team to a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site.
It’s the second public hearing on the $3.7 billion proposal that would develop the site with a new stadium, housing, retail and recreation space.
The council passed the 2026 budget on Monday, which includes funding for a new stadium. As part of the agreement, D.C. would fund $1 billion of the redevelopment project.
During Wednesday’s session the council will first hear from Mark Clouse, president of the Washington Commanders. Clouse has played a key role in negotiating the deal since taking the job earlier this year. The Commanders’ role is the first sports stop for Clouse, who came to the team after serving as CEO for Campbell’s Company.
Also set to testify is the team’s director of real estate, Andy VanHorn, and its director of public affairs, Kirtan Mehta.
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s testimony will follow that of team officials. City Administrator Kevin Donahue and Director of the Office of Budget and Performance Management Jenny Reed will also speak before the council.
Wednesday’s hearing also serves as an opportunity for D.C. Council members to publicly question Commanders officials and the mayor about the proposal.
Under the current arrangement, the team won’t pay property taxes; but Council Chair Phil Mendelson said the Commanders would pay taxes on the sales of merchandise, food and beverages.
The city will pay to build the parking garages for the RFK campus but the team has agreed to pay taxes on parking and will allow the city to collect parking revenue on days when there is not an event at the stadium.
It’s not clear if any of the financial terms of the deal will change following the hearings.
Last week, Mendelson said the reworked deal has the support of the council it needs to pass. Eight of the 12 council members need to approve it, but some members said their vote is not guaranteed — among them is At-Large Council member Robert White.
“I don’t make decisions based on pressure or timelines, I make decisions based on what’s right for D.C. residents, especially those who are too often promised everything and delivered too little,” White said during the first approval hearing.
The stadium deal has been an accelerated one, as the council meets for the approval hearings during a time when it is normally on recess.
The deal presented by the mayor came with a deadline of July 15. That deadline was not met, in order to give the council time to renegotiate with the team, but the first vote is expected Friday, and a second vote is slated for Sept. 17.
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