The Washington Commanders are lobbying the federal government to hand control of the RFK Stadium site over to the D.C. government, the Washington Post reported.
The move, which includes lobbyists meeting with the staff for House and Senate committees that oversee land transfers, could help the team clear hurdles to building a new stadium at the site of their former home.
“We are committed to supporting the city’s efforts to obtain control of the RFK campus enabling District leaders to contemplate future use that will deliver social and economic benefits for the surrounding community,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement, via the Post. “We are communicating with stakeholders at the federal and local level, sharing our vision for a potential venue.”
One of the hurdles the team has to clear is to get the federal government, which owns the land, to hand control of the land to the city, which currently leases the land of the RFK site. That lease, which runs for the next 15 years, limits what the land can be used for, and would not allow for the Commanders to build mixed-use development plans, which they've pitched for a new stadium to governments in Maryland and Virginia.
Of course, even if the Commanders are successful in their efforts with the federal government, there could be opposition at the local level. Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen is among the critics that said the 190-acre site would be better suited for new housing at various levels of affordability, parks and green spaces.
"But we also want to make clear that we believe a future football stadium at this site is incompatible with this vision," Allen wrote in June 2022 letter to Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s sole non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives, and signed by seven of 13 council members
"We all hope that the Washington Commanders can address its ownership's many off-the-field failures — in particular its failure to provide a safe working environment for women — and, secondarily, can return to its former glory on the field," Allen wrote last June. "However, we believe that this riverfront property, one of the last large undeveloped parcels of land in the District, must be utilized in the best interest of District residents. Study after study have shown that there is no economic benefit to cities that subsidize professional football stadiums, and the attendant vast parking lots, for use 8-10 times per year."
Of course, if the Josh Harris-led group completes the purchase from Dan Snyder, things could change.
Read the full report from the Washington Post here.
Follow @BenKrimmel for more.
Keep up with 106.7 The Fan via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Related
Related
