Any delays in the D.C. Council approval of a plan to build a new Washington Commanders stadium could jeopardize the entire project and prompt the franchise to consider looking to relocate elsewhere, Mayor Muriel Bowser warned Wednesday. But the council chair says that’s not the case.
At an unrelated event, Bowser said she included funding for the new stadium and development at the old RFK site in her budget proposal. The council has 70 days to work on the budget, ending Aug. 4.
The remarks come a day after NBC Washington first reported council members discussed the possibility of removing the stadium from the budget during a private meeting. Instead, a vote on the deal to bring the team back to D.C. could happen separately, after the budget vote.
For weeks, Bowser has been describing the nearly $4 billion plan as the surest and fastest way to develop the land. She and the team are hoping a new stadium would be ready for the start of the 2030 season.
“As long as this deal goes with the budget, I think our agreement lives,” Bowser said. “If it doesn’t, our agreement dies.”
Asked about the council’s possible desire for more time to consider all aspects of the deal, Bowser said the next six weeks should be sufficient to ask questions and address any issues.
Council chair calls for due diligence first
In a statement, council Chairman Phil Mendelson said funding for the stadium deal will be “protected and fully available.”
“First, there is no plan to take the monies out of the budget; there is no plan to delay the RFK resources in this year’s budget,” Mendelson said. “Second, the Commanders have said the earliest they would need the District’s money and go to the bond markets to finance construction is next summer.”
He also said he’s heard from council members and D.C. residents that “due diligence” is needed, including getting more information from the team and the mayor on underlying economic analyses, traffic studies, development plans, etc.
If the city and the Commanders don’t reach an agreement by July 15, the franchise could consider alternatives, according to Bowser. There are “specific timelines” the team needs to meet wherever it goes, Bowser said, and “uncertainty created by the council will leave a big avenue for another jurisdiction to meet their timeline.”
“Now is not the time for some imaginary deadline into the future that nobody knows what it is,” Bowser said. “The time is now to act.”
However, Mendelson said he’s met with the team and has made it clear that the July 15 deadline was “off the table,” as that date was not set by the council and members knew nothing about it.
A spokesman for Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declined to comment on whether state leaders would resume talks to keep the team in Maryland if the D.C. deal falls through.
In response to the council’s uncertainty, Bowser said the team is “outraged. I think they feel blindsided by the discussion.”
Mendelson said that “it’s not even close to characterize their reaction as ‘furious.'”
A Commanders spokesperson said the team needs a new home by 2030, and any delay could prevent a new venue from attracting concerts, performers and events, such as the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We are prepared to work with the Council morning and night over the next six weeks to keep this stadium on schedule so we can deliver for D.C.’s future,” the spokesperson said.
In his statement, Mendelson said the council will work within the team’s 2030 timetable.
“The Council will move forward quickly to analyze the Mayor’s terms, improve the deal where possible for taxpayers, and approve a new football stadium,” Mendelson said. “Any suggestions to the contrary are simply false.”
A D.C. report found a new stadium could generate tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. Bowser said the revenue is essential given changes to the city’s economy.
“The federal jobs, they’re not growing,” Bowser said. “In fact, we’re trying to save the ones that we have. We have to leave into a strong growth agenda, and we have an incredible opportunity to bring our team home, to have $2.7 billion of private investment and to get this started and to get it right now.”
In a statement on X on Tuesday night, Ward 5 Council member Zachary Parker said the council is being advised to treat the RFK deal as “the crown jewel of the FY26 budget — as if it’s the most pressing need in our city. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Washingtonians are on the brink of losing health coverage, TANF support, and housing assistance. Vital youth programs and educational services are being cut. Let’s stay focused.”
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