D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration and the Washington Commanders have agreed to a deal to bring the team back to the RFK Stadium site with a new, nearly $4 billion development.
But it’s not final until the D.C. Council approves it, and some leaders in Prince George’s County, Maryland, aren’t throwing in the towel yet.
Members of the Prince George’s County Council were quick to point out the current infrastructure challenges, especially the routine backups that already exist on D.C. 295 and the size of the area’s Metro station. But the biggest hurdle might be the more than $1 billion of city money the D.C. Council has to agree to spend.
“Is it worth it to them to do all of that in order to keep the stadium or have the stadium in D.C.? If it’s worth it to them to put up with the pain financially and with the traffic and the parking then I think that they’ll get it,” said Prince George’s County Council member Jolene Ivey.
But despite the excitement and pressure from the mayor and fans of the team, she’s not so sure it’s an easy yes for leaders in D.C. And that could be to the Maryland county’s benefit.
“If the citizens of the District of Columbia let their council members know that is not how they want their tax dollars spent, I think we’re back in the game,” she said.
“I still believe there’s some hurdles that need to be crossed, and some challenges that the District of Columbia still needs to be addressing,” said Council member Sydney Harrison, who is also a Commanders season ticket holder stung by the deal that was announced.
The team’s current home, Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, sits in a corridor that’s long been targeted for redevelopment, and discussions have focused on both a stadium-anchored site and an understanding that there might not be a stadium there in the future.
“That site is going to have to be a huge topic of conversation in our county,” Harrison said. “And I think it needs to be a collaboration, public-private partnership, between the Prince George’s County government and the team to put that property in the best possible use.”
A memorandum of understanding between the team and state of Maryland calls for quick demolition once the final home game has been played in Landover, and the discussion has tended to focus on a future filled with new housing, retail and employment centers.
“We’ve already committed $500 million in public investment to bring signature venues and infrastructure upgrades to this corridor — investments that have helped spark nearly $2 billion in private development, including $750 million from minority developers,” acting County Executive Tara Jackson said in a statement this week. “The future of the site holds real promise, and we’re excited to keep building on this momentum.”
Ivey said she doesn’t believe the team will be too involved in that next process, if it does end up moving to D.C.
“They own the land, but I think that they don’t care what it becomes, as long as it’s financially viable,” Ivey said. “The people who live here in Prince George’s County care a lot. So I think we’ll be the ones who decide what is there, but it’ll be up to them to go along with the program or not.”
She added that the people who live near Northwest Stadium “have been promised great development for decades, and they have not gotten it.”
But Ivey also said other cities around the country have balked at forking over millions, if not billions of dollars, to billionaire owners who own a money-printing entity such as an NFL franchise.
That’s why she and Harrison aren’t ready to say the team is leaving.
She had a message for the D.C. Council.
“I wish them well, and I wish that they don’t support it,” Ivey said.
Harrison, who still touts a move to the Oxon Cove area near the Capital Beltway and National Harbor — a site that was once championed by former Gov. Larry Hogan — also isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.
“We’re committed to you. And because we’re committed to you, we would love for you to stay. I’m not giving up,” Harrison said.
“I do believe that until everything is signed, sealed and delivered, everything can still be on the table.”
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