The hope for the Commanders' new stadium to be built in Washington D.C. at the site of the franchise's former home, RFK Stadium, is already facing opposition in the U.S. Senate from Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and he could gain reinforcements as a Senate hopeful signaled her intention to support the effort to keep the football team in the state.
Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Party’s candidate to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin, said in a statement that the Commanders "belong here in Maryland."
“Having them here has always been a great source of pride for me and for so many Marylanders," the statement read, via The Washington Times. "In the Senate, I’ll continue to work with Senator Van Hollen and Governor Wes Moore to keep the Commanders here and ensure there is a fair process.”
The Senate has jurisdiction over this matter because the RFK Stadium site land is controlled by the federal government and legislation would have to pass to give control of the land to the D.C. government for development.
Van Hollen said last month that his intention is not to "block the transfer of the RFK property from the National Park Service" to D.C., indicating he wishes the local government could get access to the land, but not if the land is used for a new football stadium.
Thom Loverro, who has covered this story extensively in The Times, joined Kevin Sheehan to explain the latest on the Maryland politician's efforts – including Gov. Wes Moore – in keeping the Commanders in the state – possibly in Landover – instead of losing them to D.C.
"We think about the DMV as one big region, but Maryland is competing with the District for the football team," Loverro told Sheehan. "And Maryland sees this legislation as an effort to try and steal the football team."
Of course with that in mind, Alsobrooks – who is ahead in the latest polls – may be stating a bipartisan position. The Republican Party's nominee is former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had previously worked on trying to keep the Commanders in Maryland.
Alsobrooks or Hogan would not take office until Jan. 3, 2025. There is a chance the bill to transfer the RFK Stadium site land to the District could have passed by then but with Van Hollen's stated position and a challenge from Montana Sen. Steve Daines involving the change of the team's name, it seems doubtful that is the case.
"This is where the District is at a loss because they have no representation to fight for them in the Senate," Loverro said. "They have one [non-voting] member of Congress who really doesn't have much power."
Loverro added: "I don't see who's fighting the legislative battles for the District to do that," in reference to getting the land transfer attached as an amendment to another piece of legislation that Van Hollen or Alsobrooks would not stop via a hold. "I don't see [the District's] champion."
Overall, "this thing is not going to get wrapped up in the timeframe that new ownership was hoping it would be wrapped up in," Sheehan said, "and pushing it back just means, pushing everything back, and we're talking about 2030-2031. Which is why they put so much investment into FedEx Field."