The Washington Commanders have bought land in Woodbridge, Virginia, for what could be a potential site of the NFL team’s next stadium, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the team had not announced the acquisition. The Commanders paid about $100 million for 200 acres of land in Prince William County and are still considering other locations in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, the person said.
This site is just over 20 miles outside D.C., about a 45-minute drive from RFK Stadium, which was the team’s home from 1961-1996. The Commanders’ current lease at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, expires in 2027.
ESPN, which first reported the sale, added that the site is the team’s preferred choice for a 60,000-seat domed stadium that would be available for use year-round and would include a practice facility and amphitheater, and a façade that could change colors. Building a stadium that could host a Super Bowl has long been considered one of the organization’s goals.
Owner Dan Snyder and Co. have been looking at several possible sites in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, though the specter of investigations into the team’s finances clouded how those jurisdictions might handle helping him finance a stadium.
The Maryland House last month approved a $400 million plan to develop the area around FedEx Field that did not include money for a new stadium. Virginia lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would make it favorable for the Commanders to build their next stadium there.
Maryland Del. Jazz Lewis, who has been a proponent of a new stadium in the Largo area, where there’s a big retail development going in, told WTOP, “No matter what the Commanders decide, Prince George’s County will continue to make a historic $400 million economic investment in the area surrounding FedEx field. This money will serve the surrounding community with or without the football team. It’s important we continue with this economic development so that Prince George’s can have a new center of opportunity.”
WTOP’s Kyle Cooper contributed to this report.
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