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Maryland Senators back RFK Bill, paving way for Commanders’ return
An effort to bring the Commanders home is gaining yardage tonight on Capitol Hill. Maryland’s United States Senators are telling FOX 5 they support legislation that will give the District control of the RFK Stadium site. FOX 5’s Tom Fitzgerald is live on the Hill.
LANDOVER, Md. - Both of Maryland’s U.S. senators say they are now on board with a bill to give D.C. control of the RFK Stadium site. That could clear the way for the District to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C. in a brand-new stadium.
Maryland’s Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen told FOX 5 that they’ve resolved their issues surrounding the transfer and are supporting the RFK transfer to D.C.
Congress is racing to a midnight Friday deadline to pass a funding bill to keep the government open. The RFK bill is included in that funding bill, so if once Congress passes the spending bill it will also pass the RFK bill.
The senators tell FOX 5, that they weren't opposed to the bill but were looking out for Maryland’s interests if the Commanders were to leave Landover for D.C.
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DC expected to take control of RFK Stadium as bill moves forward
It appears leaders in Maryland, D.C. and Congress are all on board with a bill that will hand control of the RFK Stadium site over to the District. The RFK bill is included in a funding bill that Congress is racing to pass by the end of session, which is midnight on Friday. FOX News' Chad Pergram joins the DMV Zone to talk about the bill and the push to transform RFK into a stadium that could lure the Commanders back to D.C.
"Should the Commanders leave Maryland, that they wouldn’t leave the surrounding community high and dry," Van Hollen said. "So we’ve been working on a memorandum of understanding to get the assurances we need that the surrounding neighborhood will have its needs addressed."
That included the redevelopment of the team’s current stadium, the transfer of an air National Guard unit, and funding to rebuild Baltimore’s Key Bridge, which were separate issues.
Both say the issues are resolved, and they’re on board.
"Our principal objective has been to equalize this," Cardin added. "We think we’ve been successful in doing that. Nothing is done until everything is done but that was our principal objective and we’ve been working very closely with the governor and the commanders for this to become a reality."
So right now, the game clock is running down for Congress. The House passed a preliminary vote on the continuing resolution funding package Tuesday, setting up another vote on final passage. The bill then moves onto the Senate, where it’s expected to pass. All of this has to be done by 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
It’s important to note that even if D.C. gets control of the RFK Stadium site, that doesn’t mean the Commanders are guaranteed to come.