DC mayor optimistic about Commanders’ future at RFK site

It was quite a weekend for the Washington Commanders and their fans.

Not only did the team pull off a last-minute victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a home crowd, but the last hurdle for the District to gain control of the RFK site is a stroke of President Joe Biden’s pen. 

The legislation giving the District control of the 170-acre site passed around 1:15 Saturday morning by unanimous consent.

For the first time, we’re hearing from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who says her team continued working to get a vote on the Senate floor after it got stripped from the government funding bill.

"When we knew we weren’t going to be able to get back into the CR, we had to find a pathway to get to the floor," Bowser said Monday.

Mayor Bowser said she met with owner Josh Harris at Sunday’s game, but didn’t want to say much about that conversation other than reiterate her hope the team moves back to D.C.

Bowser said her team has already begun work on a proposal to make that happen.

Another thing the mayor said Monday: She thinks if the district and team come to an agreement, she thinks the first home game could be played before Josh Harris’s stated goal of 2030.

"If we’re able to do what we think we can do in D.C. I think it’ll take 2 years to construct it. And then there are entitlements and all of the things that has to get done. And our conversations with the community. All of the things have to happen first, but I think they could probably build it in 2 years, maybe 2.5 years," Bowser said.

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RFK Stadium bill passes Senate. What happens next?

The bill that gives D.C. control over the RFK site is still awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature after a successful last-minute effort to get the Senate to vote on the bill at 1:15 a.m. Saturday.

Make no mistake: We can expect a competitive process for landing the team, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore says he thinks the team should stay and will work to make that happen.

"Our position on the stadium hasn’t changed. We are not afraid of competition, and we believe that we can continue to build on decades of partnership with the team here in Maryland," Moore said in a statement. "We are confident that Landover is still the best path to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders."

Mayor Bowser says her team has already worked to develop a plan for the RFK site and acknowledges the need to work with residents and council to make sure it’s a good plan for the District.

"Thoughts of what it would look like and how we would finance the infrastructure. What the team and the league would be interested in doing there, and how we get everything else that we want there. All of those things have to happen," Bowser said. 

Some council members have already come out against a stadium at the site, and others who support a stadium don’t think there should be public financing, indicating there’s work to do on a possible deal.

William Snape is a law professor at American University who says Mayor Bowser is right to feel like she’s got the momentum, but for D.C., Maryland and even Virginia, getting the legislatures to sign off on a deal will be a lot of work.

"On the one hand, I think that her enthusiasm is well-founded. On many levels, the Commanders deserve to be in D.C. and there’s a feeling behind that. But she’s got to pull together the money. It’s not certain the D.C. Council when push comes to shove will agree with shelling out the money that might be needed. On the other hand, Wes Moore is talking a big game, but anyone who knows Maryland Politics knows they’re running a 3 billion dollar budget deficit right now. So, I don’t know where he thinks that money is going to come from, so it’s to be determined," Snape said. 

The Commanders have consistently said they’re grateful to have three jurisdictions interested in the team.

The RFK legislation still needs President Biden’s signature—Mayor Bowser was last told the bill has not quite made it to the president’s desk for signing.