Don’t count out the Washington Commanders returning to the nation’s capital just yet. The roller-coaster of whether the federal government would give Washington, D.C., control over the RFK Stadium site continued late Friday night into Saturday morning. But this time, it was good news for the Commanders.
After 1 a.m. on Saturday, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer (R-Ky.), sent shockwaves across X — formerly Twitter — with the following post.
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RFK STADIUM LEGISLATION PASSES SENATE AND HEADS TO THE PRESIDENT’S DESK.
The Senate just passed my bipartisan D.C. RFK Stadium Campus Revitalization Act.
If Congress failed to pass my RFK stadium legislation, this decaying land in D.C. would continue to cost taxpayers…
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) December 21, 2024
All sides have worked hard to make a deal happen for everyone, including Maryland, where the Commanders currently play. Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has been outspoken about wanting the NFL franchise to return home to the District, especially since former owner Daniel Snyder sold the team.
However, multiple issues have made it look like a deal would never happen. Earlier this week, for example, the provision to transfer the RFK site to the city was suddenly not included in the government’s latest spending bill.
It was a setback, and many were angry as it looked all but dead.
https://t.co/JohISxOBfQ pic.twitter.com/NUy8YwIvuz
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 21, 2024
The RFK Stadium deal was unanimously approved, which rarely happens today, as all 100 U.S. Senators agreed to pass the legislation. Washington, D.C., will now have control of over 170 acres of federal property for 99 years.
The Commanders, then known as the Redskins, played at RFK Stadium from 1961-96, where they enjoyed their greatest successes. In 1997, Washington moved into a new stadium in Prince George’s County, Maryland, built by former owner Jack Kent Cooke. It was later renamed FedEx Field until earlier this year when the stadium reached a new licensing deal, making it Northwest Stadium.
One of Washington’s minority owners, Mark Ein, reacted on X.
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— Mark Ein (@Markein) December 21, 2024
The Commanders’ lease at Northwest Stadium runs through the 2027 season.
