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Commanders leadership meets with Maryland senators amid DC's push for stadium
FOX 5 has confirmed with a spokesperson for the Washington Commanders that principal owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with various legislators on Monday.
LANDOVER, Md. - FOX 5 has confirmed with a spokesperson for the Washington Commanders that principal owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with various legislators on Monday.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen tells FOX 5 he and Sen. Ben Cardin, alongside Prince George’s County leaders, met with other members of ownership.
There's been a flurry of activity at the end of this legislative session regarding House Resolution 4984, the bill that would give control of the RFK site to the District of Columbia and give the Commanders an option to build a new stadium at that site.
The bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate. All eyes are on Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to see if he’ll bring it to the floor for a vote.
Van Hollen tells FOX 5 Schumer has indicated he wants to make sure Van Hollen and Cardin are on board with the bill.
"I think Senator Schumer has been clear that he will respect the views and decisions of the Senators from the State of Maryland," Van Hollen said.
Right now, the sticking point for Van Hollen: promises from the Commanders about the future of the Northwest Stadium site should the team leave.
"What we’ve said is we just want assurances that if the Commanders choose to RFK that they do right by the community there. We don’t want. Right now, if you look at RFK, it’s just been sitting there, vacant. We want a plan to develop the area for the good of the community at least as an insurance policy should they decide to move," Van Hollen said.
RELATED: RFK bill passes Senate committee vote
There’s a race against the clock here as this legislative session winds down.
Van Hollen tells me he is expecting the Commanders to share a plan for the area with him soon enough for him and Cardin to sign off on the bill if whatever the Commanders propose meets their expectations.
"I want to see a plan for a vibrant community and it won’t be just my judgment it will also be the judgment of the state of Maryland and Prince George’s County representatives. Really, it’s up to the representatives from those areas to make that determination. But I think the Commanders will be putting forward a plan. I hope they will, I hope it’ll be detailed enough and it’ll be presented with enough guarantees that, we can be satisfied," Van Hollen said.
The Commanders representative responded to a list of questions from FOX 5 by confirming the meetings with Josh Harris and Roger Goodell on the hill, but not commenting on the ongoing negotiations.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to answer Fox 5’s questions about the bill.
Gov. Wes Moor, also declined to comment through a spokesperson tonight. Moore’s most recent public comments indicated he wanted to keep the team in Maryland.
There has also been reporting that the Maryland Senate delegation wanted the D.C. Air National Guard’s squadron to be transferred to Maryland as part of the RFK conversation.
Van Hollen says Maryland will be losing air assets as part of restructuring, and while he and Cardin are focused on bringing those assets back in some form, Van Hollen says that’s not directly connected to the RFK conversation.