Public hearings on new Commanders DC stadium legislation begin Tuesday

The D C Council will hold population hearings Tuesday and Wednesday on bill to bring the Washington Commanders to D C with a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site A first vote on the deal is expected Friday The new stadium is projected to cost billion including the expansion of housing units of which will be designated as affordable housing and retail space and parkland across the -acre RFK campus The District would contribute billion while the group would fund the remaining billion Related stories DC Council reworks stadium deal with Commanders to secure revenue transportation improvements Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don t switch back to Redskins Stadium deal opponents are not moved by latest plans to redevelop RFK If the deal passes a first vote a final vote is expected in September Demolition and construction could begin by with the stadium potentially opening by if it gets the green light D C Mayor Muriel Bowser first communicated a stadium deal with the Commanders in April with a July deadline for council approval But concerns from council members including D C Council Chair Phil Mendelson led to a delay and a renegotiation of terms with the group Under the revised proposal Mendelson s office estimates million in revenue for D C over a period of years and another million from revenue collected via non-stadium event day parking Mendelson s office also declared a transportation improvement fund to the tune of million per year That money would fund any Metro and highway enhancements for the stadium site Mendelson announced the funds could go toward a second Metro station in the neighborhood to address future threshold issues During the scheduled hearings the council is sure to hear impassioned testimony from supporters and opponents of the deal I expect that a lot of the testimony is going to be very simple We think it s great the Commanders are coming back and we want you to vote yes Mendelson reported I think we will also hear from several folks that they think that any kind of subsidy is unacceptable to them One opposition group Homes Not Stadiums is even pushing to establish a ballot initiative that aims to restrict the mayor from leasing or licensing the RFK Stadium land There s also the threat of resistance from the federal cabinet President Donald Trump has noted he may disrupt the deal if the Washington Commanders don t return to their previous name which was considered offensive to Native Americans In posts on X Mayor Bowser revealed RFK isn t just about a stadium and DC wants the Commanders home Council member Robert White also explained in a post on X We all want football back at RFK but not if D C residents pay the price Source