Lawmakers want the Washington Commanders to play in DC, but Maryland and Virginia also are interested

The regional debate over the location of the Washington Commanders‘ next home is intensifying after the NFL team’s first season under new ownership, with Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia each seeking leverage in their bids.

In Washington, D.C., Congress is looking to help the local government draw the football team back to the district for the first time since 1996, when it moved to FedEx Field in Maryland. Considered one of the worst stadiums in the NFL, owner Josh Harris began looking for a new home for his team soon after his purchase of the team was ratified in July 2023. Part of his search includes rebuilding relationships previous owner Dan Snyder burned over the years in the DMV area.

Each jurisdiction could appeal in different ways to Harris, with Washington, D.C., having boosters in Congress. A measure to overhaul the team’s old home area, in a stadium area blocks from Capitol Hill, the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, came under consideration in a “bipartisan fashion” by the House Oversight Committee in mid-January. That after being stalled since September of last year, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told the Washington Examiner.

The legislation was first introduced in July last year by an unlikely pair: Comer, known for leading investigations of wayward presidential son Hunter Biden, and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). That happened the same month Harris’s purchase was ratified.

The proposal would require the federal government to lease the RFK land to the D.C. government for 99 years, allowing them to redevelop the land as they choose. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a vocal advocate of the bill, has long had her eyes set on building a new stadium in that area to bring the Commanders home to the district.

The measure last took a markup vote on Sept. 20, 2023, advancing the bill to a full House vote, but it has been stalled since then. Comer said that, following “meaningful discussions” with Bowser and local stakeholders, “it became clear that revitalizing the vacant RFK stadium campus is a top economic priority for the nation’s capital.”

“Congress can help pave a path for local D.C. leaders to create meaningful new jobs, add millions in city revenue, and transform the city’s RFK waterfront site into a lively destination for all,” the Kentucky Republican said. “I remain dedicated to working in a bipartisan fashion and hopeful that we can move legislation as quickly as possible.”

However, Washington, D.C., has distinct disadvantages in the form of adversarial council members, defiant local residents, and the overall burden of a taxpayer-funded sports arena. And one of Mayor Bowser’s biggest blows gave Virginia an edge.

In December, the commonwealth declared victory after the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals announced plans to leave Washington, D.C., for a new sports arena in the Potomac Yard area. The pending moves suggest the district is unable to support national teams, a particularly harsh blow to Bowser’s image.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said when announcing the deal that it was the culmination of “many years of dreaming” and would be good for the taxpayers in the commonwealth.

“Virginia has a tremendous opportunity to be the home to multiple professional sports teams. The Monumental announcement is a one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment district that will generate $12 billion of economic impact and create 30,000 jobs in Virginia,” Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Other organizations will have to decide on what they’re going to do but it should be a collaborative effort between our administration, our general assembly and the locality to make sure that it is a good deal for Virginia taxpayers.”

“Governor Youngkin believes Virginia is the best place to live, work, raise a family, and watch your favorite professional team win!” Martinez continued.

In October, Washington, D.C., residents in the Kingman Park area near the RFK Stadium delivered Bowser another major blow: a survey commissioned by the neighborhood’s civic association found two-thirds of the roughly 2,500 people polled opposed the idea of building a new stadium. A large majority of the respondents ranked a new stadium dead last after green space, housing, and playgrounds as options for revitalizing the area.

The top complaint among residents and D.C. council members has been the use of taxpayer funds to lure a team back to the district, bringing traffic, drunk fans, opportunities for crime, and rats along with it, according to Washington City Paper.

Bowser’s office declined to comment to the Washington Examiner about Congress revising the RFK Stadium bill or how bringing the Commanders back to Washington, D.C., could affect the district.

Some D.C. council members have argued that trying to keep the Wizards and Capitals from leaving the district is how D.C. tax dollars are best spent, rather than attempting to lure the Commanders back to a home area that they left nearly 30 years ago.

“I think that’s the responsible thing for us to do is to consider all of our options that are on the table,” Councilwoman Christina Henderson said in September. “But at the end of the day, again, it’s going to be about priorities. … We really have to focus on the teams that we currently have in the district and shoring up to make sure that they remain. The dollars and cents only go but so far.”

Maryland lawmakers seem to agree. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), motivated by a desire to keep the Commanders in Maryland, had supported a provision from Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) that would block public funds for a new stadium under the RFK Stadium bill. The amendment failed to pass, but it did not ease the worries of those who believe the stadium will ultimately cost more than it’s worth.

Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) arguably has the most leverage and the most to lose. So far, Maryland is the only jurisdiction with an available site and the ability to provide public funding. Harris also owns the land where FedEx Field resides, so even though the lease ends in 2027, the team could stay indefinitely in a modern stadium if one is built. Moore spent the last few months engaging with the Commanders owners and attended four of the team’s games this past season, according to his staff. 

“The Commanders have called Prince George’s County home for the last 25 years, and the governor is committed to continuing that longstanding partnership,” press secretary Carter Elliott said to the Washington Examiner.

Moore said in December that, though two D.C.-area sports teams are heading to Virginia, he is not worried about losing the third, the Commanders, to the commonwealth or anywhere else.

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“I want the Commanders to stay in Maryland,” Moore said in December, also citing the expanding Metrorail line in Maryland. “We have already, as a state, allocated $400 million that’s going towards the Blue Line corridor because we believe in a larger development and creating the live, work, play environment.” 

Moore, elected governor in 2022 and known as a big sports fan, added, “My eagerness and aggressiveness in trying to keep the Commanders here in the state of Maryland is not at all impacted by what we saw with the [Capitals] and the Wizards.”