As lawmakers on Capitol Hill come to terms on a stopgap funding bill, one provision could bring the Washington Commanders back to the team’s old stomping grounds in Northeast, D.C.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is celebrating the bill after years of pushing to bring the team back to D.C.

The legislation, which is expected to pass, would transfer the land of the old RFK Stadium in Northeast from the federal government to the District.

Read more: 

Bowser joined WTOP anchors John Aaron and Michelle Basch to talk about the bill and her efforts to bring the team back to D.C.

Listen to the full interview below or read the transcript, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser talks about the funding bill with WTOP anchors John Aaron and Michelle Basch.

John Aaron: You’ve called the legislation a giant step forward. It seems like this was the biggest hurdle to getting a stadium back in that spot, was it?

Muriel Bowser: Well, it’s been a hurdle to for the District to get control of 177 acres that’s been sitting blighted and vacant for several years now. And we think in 177 acres, you can do quite a lot, and we have been restricted in how we can use it because of our lease to only a stadium use. What this legislation would do is give us control and the ability to develop multiple uses, including a world class stadium.

Michelle Basch: So if this bill passes in Congress, as expected, what’s the timeline here? What comes next?

Muriel Bowser: Well, we’re going to have conversations in D.C. with our policy makers. We’re developing a great plan for the site that we will be very anxious to present. We’ll sit down in earnest with the team, talk about our joint goals, and we will be demolishing the current stadium on the RFK site.

John Aaron: What were your conversations like with lawmakers, and how did you get members of both parties on board with this idea when they can’t seem to agree on anything?

Muriel Bowser: I know it’s been an amazing, amazing kind of story, I think. We sat down. I went early on for a hearing with Congressman (James) Comer in the Oversight Committee, and I think they were expecting to talk about crime, and we were expecting to talk about how they could help us. And I have to give a lot of credit to (James) Comer. He said he would help us, and he did. He introduced a piece of legislation with Congresswoman (Eleanor Holmes) Norton, and he has been with us every step of the way. So we had one of the most comical committee votes I’ve ever seen. People that never agree on anything, agreed that Washington, D.C. should step into place for the National Park Service, develop this land, control our destiny and create a lot of jobs and opportunities for D.C. residents and our visitors.

Michelle Basch: Can we also talk about the Council making the final approval to keep Capital One Arena upgraded and keep the Caps and Wizards in the cities?

Muriel Bowser: Yes. It’s been an amazing kind of a year. Somebody mentioned to me that last year, this time, we were concerned that the Wizards and Caps would leave. Yesterday, the council approved my legislation that it allows us to buy Cap One Arena and keeps the Wizards and the Caps playing in Washington, D.C. until at least 2050 and our landmark legislation that gives us control of the RFK site is almost passed. It was agreed upon, and we expect it to pass this week.

John Aaron: Of course, there’s the issue of paying for all of the upgrades to the RFK Stadium site. How would that work?

Muriel Bowser: Well, it’s going to work like all of our major developments work, like the Wharf, like Walter Reed, like St. Elizabeth. Whether we have a stadium there or not, the District is going to be a partner in the redevelopment. And so we always go in, we create a great plan, likely we support the development of the infrastructure, and we look for a great development partner that helps us realize our vision for housing and jobs and recreation. What people don’t often mention, and I’m reading all the press coverage today about this site, is it’s on the banks of the Anacostia River, and right now, our residents don’t have great connections. This legislation also requires us, and we’re very happy to comply, with having 30% of the parcel be park space. So we’re going to get a lot of recreation space. I’ve already committed that the District would support our own indoor sports complex for our kids to have indoor track and other activities. And you know, we have a lot of space to meet the goals of our communities.

Michelle Basch: Anything else you want our listeners to know this morning (on) such big news?

Muriel Bowser: Huge news. And I just want to say it’s just a win, win, we think, for the region, and it’s going to allow us to create jobs and attract the types of events to our region that we haven’t been able to attract. Imagine if we were able to have a Super Bowl here, the World Cup, Taylor Swift concerts. All of those things that have passed by our 4 million plus person region can be served at the RFK campus.

John Aaron: All right, that is some big thinking. Thank you. Mayor Bowser, we appreciate it.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Doran also appeared to urge a mass storming of Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day if his prophecy does not come to pass. According to Doran’s social media rant, Executive Order 13848, which Trump signed in 2018, will be weaponized to arrest the president-elect for conspiring with foreign actors to rig the election.

Jerry Doran’s online rant

“Don’t forget, it’s We the People, okay? Executive Order 13848 is coming out. It’s been out, and Donald Trump helped create it. It’s going to come back to bite him because it says how we have to proceed when there’s outside interference in our elections. There definitely has been. They’re going to reveal it on December 20th because 45 days from November 6th brings us to December 20th—six days from today, Friday,” Doran said in his social media rant.

Doran further said that if the Executive Order 13848 is not implemented next week, then by January 20 “We the People are going to have to show up in Washington and have this guy step down.” He further said, “The 3% rule states that if 3% of a group’s population gathers in mass, they can change everything. We have 330 million Americans. Ten percent of that is 33 million. And what’s a third of that? Eleven million. Eleven million of us need to show up in Washington, D.C., on January 20th and have this guy step down. He’ll see 11 million people—talk about a crowd. He’ll have a coronary and step down. We’ve got to do it. For those of us in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Long Island, Connecticut—everybody—we’ve got to converge on Washington. Black, white, trans, LGBTQ2, drag queens—peacefully and coincidentally—we’re going to meet and have this guy step down. That’s our fail-safe.”

Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the US is set to take place on January 20 next year on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. He is expected to deliver an inaugural address. Joe Biden has confirmed that he will be in attendance, and has ensured apeaceful transfer of power.

San Diego International Airport will soon have a direct flight to Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, thanks to approval Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Alaska Airlines will run the direct flights to the coveted location, after proposing the route when the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 passed. The airline will allocate additional flights to and from heavily regulated Reagan National — also known as DCA.

DCA is significantly closer to the nation’s capital than the next nearest airport, Dulles International.

“We are very pleased with the DOT’s approval of Alaska Airlines to begin service between SAN and DCA,” said Kimberly Becker, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. “This route will provide significant convenience for our defense, biotech and communications sectors that require efficient access to the nation’s capital.

“We appreciate the DOT’s thoughtful analysis, and we are grateful to the many elected officials, industry sectors, and communities who spoke up in support of this service,” she added.

Due to DCA’s much closer proximity to Capitol Hill, the White House and other important buildings in Washington, D.C., the DOT requires that nonstop flights from cities farther than 1,250 miles get special approval.

Before Tuesday’s decision, San Diego was the nation’s largest market without nonstop service to DCA.