Commanders' $3.8B Stadium Project Gets Approval from Washington D.C. City Council

The Washington D.C. City Council gave a second, final approval for a new Washington Commanders' stadium at the grounds of the old RFK Stadium, voting in favor 11-2.

The $3.8 billion project will include a 65,000-seat stadium and development of the local area.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser released the following statement:

The Commanders have been playing at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland since 1997. The team played at RFK Stadium, located in Washington D.C., between 1961–96. The team will now return to the site of the old RFK Stadium—the old building is in the process of being demolished—at a brand new stadium.

The project will cost taxpayers $1 billion, while the Commanders will also receive "$1 billion in tax breaks and other incentives," per Jenny Gathright of the Washington Post. Per that report, the city will provide "$500 million for stadium infrastructure, more than $350 million for parking garages and $202 million for utilities and a transit study" and also "finance a Sportsplex that will be run by the Department of Parks and Recreation and include an indoor track and other space for youth sports."

Negotiations for the project were intense, with the City Council considering 12 amendments on second vote. At-large Councilmember Robert White, for instance, wanted stricter penalties levied against the Commanders if they missed deadlines for the development side of the deal, such as providing 6,000 housing units.

"Stadiums get built without taxpayer money," he told reporters when asked if he was concerned that such demands might jeopardize the project entirely. "The owners of this stadium are some of the wealthiest people in the world. The city right now is in a deficit. Most of us in this city would like to see them here but they can afford to build a stadium."

None of the last-minute amendments to the deal passed the City Council's vote, however.