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A bill that would allow D.C. to redevelop RFK Stadium — and potentially lure the Washington Commanders to play there — is set to make its debut in a pair of House committees next week, kick-starting congressional debate over the future of the decrepit stadium on a huge parcel of land.
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The House Natural Resources subcommittee on federal lands plans to hold a hearing on Sept. 19 on the legislation, while the House Oversight Committee — which oversees the District — plans to mark up and debate the legislation next week, according to a spokesman, who noted the exact timing is not yet finalized.
The bill — the RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act — is crucial to Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s third-term priority to redevelop the RFK site and, if she can woo the Commanders, turn it into a new home for the football team. The bill would extend D.C.’s lease with the federal government at RFK for up to 99 years and expand how the site can be used, allowing for a mixed-use development that could include commercial developments, housing — and/or a stadium.
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But the bill must pass Congress before D.C. can move forward on any major redevelopment plans at the site, let alone turn it into a new Commanders stadium. The hearings could take the temperature of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, potentially showing whether the bill is likely to face any political hurdles.
The fact that the legislation is bipartisan is likely to work in its favor. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) — the chairman of the powerful Oversight Committee who more typically presides over hearings digging into D.C. crime and grilling D.C. officials – introduced the legislation in July. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who is more typically defending against Comer’s intensive oversight of D.C., joined him in a rare moment of bipartisanship between the two.
Redeveloping RFK also became a rare point of agreement between the Republican chairman and Democratic mayor. Before a hearing about crime in D.C. in May, Comer and Bowser said they discussed the city’s priorities — and “it has become clear that addressing the deteriorating conditions at the RFK Memorial stadium site is a top economic priority for the city,” Comer said in a statement when he released the bill.
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But while passage of the legislation in Congress could greatly expand D.C.’s opportunities to revitalize the site, it won’t exactly determine the site’s future. Tension and disagreement remain on the D.C. Council about whether to pursue a Commanders stadium — or use public funds for stadium construction. And there’s no guarantee that, even if D.C. could build a new stadium at RFK, the Commanders would choose to come there.
D.C. Council mixed in positions on RFK stadium, but backs new federal bill
The Commanders’ new ownership group, led by managing partner Josh Harris, has been asked multiple times during public appearances where it would like to put the new stadium. Harris has usually deflected — saying things like the team is exploring every option or focused on winning games.
D.C., Maryland and Virginia are expected to compete for the stadium — though D.C. and Virginia, which lacks a stadium authority bill, cannot yet be at the negotiating table. However, if Harris’s group wanted to fully, privately fund a new stadium, Virginia would not need to have a stadium authority.
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Last week, Virginia took an early step toward making a stadium in the commonwealth possible by passing a long-delayed budget that included a $250,000 study “to develop relevant capabilities, conduct planning, and evaluate potential economic incentives to attract sports teams to the state.”
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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has said he is open to providing public funds to the team to keep the stadium in the state, though he has not provided specific figures. The team currently plays in Prince George’s County at FedEx Field.
Shortly after the sale of the Commanders from Daniel Snyder to Harris became official, the owners and local executives began courting one another. Moore and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) attended preseason practices, and Bowser attended the team’s season-opening game Sunday.
On Friday, before a pep rally in Franklin Park, Harris called his discussions with local leaders “very preliminary.”
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“Look, everyone has welcomed us to an incredible extent — Maryland, Virginia, D.C.,” he said. “We’re grateful that they want to be a part of it, and I think right now we’re welcoming to everyone.”
Last week, before an appearance at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Bowser welcomed the ownership group, specifically Harris and limited partners Mitchell Rales, Mark Ein and Magic Johnson. She made several oblique references to bringing the team back to the city and drew a parallel between the city’s efforts to revitalize downtown as part of D.C.’s comeback plan and the Commanders’ own comeback of sorts, under new leadership with a new team name.
“[The fans], when they think about the heyday of our team and Super Bowls and parades, they think about RFK,” she said. “We are ready to work with our ownership team to take the Commanders to new heights and bring back the pride in our town.”
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The future of RFK last got a hearing in Congress in 2017, when a similar bill led by Norton, allowing the federal government to sell the RFK site to D.C., went up before the House Natural Resources Committee. The regional director of the National Park Service National Capital Region at the time expressed support for the city gaining control of RFK, but the bill ultimately did not go anywhere.
The current RFK lease is between D.C. and the National Park Service, and is slated to end in 2038. The lease currently restricts land usage to sports, recreation and entertainment.
The Natural Resources subcommittee is expected to hear from multiple witnesses, including Delano Hunter, the city’s acting director of the Department of General Services, according to a city spokeswoman. Others have yet to be announced.
This story has been updated with additional details about the possibility a stadium could be built in Virginia.
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