The bill giving DC back control of the RFK Stadium land finally passed through the Senate over the weekend, thanks to unanimous consent – so what exactly does that mean?
“So it got taken out of the smaller package that passed and avoided the shutdown, so from Thursday all the way to Saturday morning, the lobbying effort was targeted at the Senate to pass the RFK stadium bill as a solo bill instead of having it in the government funding bill,” Perez said. “So it got down to the last minute, all 100 senators had to be on board with it, and once Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced it, there were no objections, and within a couple of minutes, the bill passed. Now we're waiting for President Biden to sign it, and then the RFK stadium site where the team played for decades becomes basically the top option for the next Commanders stadium.”
BMitch thinks maybe the thought of having other huge events in DC – like maybe the Super Bowl and/or the Olympics? – played a role in the unanimous consent, so a stadium is pretty much a lock at this point, but some folks are lucky that they counted the chickens and they still hatched?
“Mayor Bowser and a lot of other people in the DC government, and even some of the bill sponsors, they never really hyped up the stadium; they were focused on the parks and residential and other uses, which could still happen even if the Commanders do relocate there,” Perez said. “But they were careful until Wednesday, when it looked good, and that’s when Mayor Bowser mentioned the stadium and other things, but I reported about a wkek ago now that this is the ownership group’s preference of where they want to see it. It’s not a slam dunk; the DC government is now in charge of it or will be in charge of it once Biden signs the bill, and then neighbors may voice opposition and there will be maybe some pushback for public money. Things can change, but right now it looks good.”
Since the bill passed, Mayor Bowser has said they can build a stadium there before 2030, and maybe even in two to three years – which lines up with the end of the lease in Landover – but what is a realistic timeline?
“She said 2029 could be a possibility, and that could be, but they're still tearing it down now; they need to raze the old one and figure out if there's any remediation needs to be done on the land, so you have environmental impact reports and those other things,” Perez said. “But basically, the next major step, which I think we’re several months away from., is Josh Harris and the ownership group have to come to an agreement with the Mayor and the city council.”
Still a long road, though, and there’s the issue of funding – DC owes Monumental Sports a half-billion over the next three years to upgrade Capital One Arena – but Perez does think we could see the timeline the Commanders would like come true.
“I think shovel in the ground in 2027, maybe late-2026 if everything falls right, is pretty doable,” Perez said. “It takes about a year and a half, two years to build a stadium these days, so yeah, it could be 2029, but I don't think it'd be much sooner than that though.”
Perez basically confirmed what other officials have told other hosts on our airwaves that Dan Snyder was part of the problem as to why this didn’t happen until now, which shows with Roger Goodell and other owners lobbying for Harris and the Commanders on Capitol Hill.
Take a listen to the entire conversation above, as Perez also discusses how Maryland and Virginia’s current facilities fit into this equation and more!