Washington's football team has played in Landover, Maryland, for decades, but with team owner Josh Harris hoping to move the team back to the RFK site in D.C., Maryland leaders want to make sure there's a plan for the Northwest Stadium site in the future.
The Washington Commanders appear willing to provide investments to make sure Prince George's County doesn't get stuck with an abandoned stadium. As first reported by the Washington Post, the Commanders have agreed to pay for Northwest Stadium to be demolished and to make additional investments in the Landover community, including hundreds of acres surrounding the stadium.
Sources confirm that, under a nonbinding agreement, the Commanders would pay for the stadium to be demolished within 90 days of playing at a new site. While the team and Prince George's County officials are on board, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has not yet signed off.
The future of Northwest Stadium in Maryland is tied into D.C.'s push to get control of the old RFK Stadium site, with the idea of moving the Commanders back into the District. Just last week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser accused Maryland leaders of holding the deal hostage over federal funding for a new Key Bridge in Baltimore.
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Maryland leaders have indicated if Congress gives D.C. control of the RFK land, it gives the city an unfair advantage to attract the team away from Landover.
On Monday, Bowser said the deal is in the hands of the U.S. Senate and that she trusts all parties are working in good faith.
"We're talking almost 200 acres of land in D.C. that's currently blighted," she said. "The taxpayers of the District are willing to step up and put that land back into productive use: more jobs, more recreation, sports, parks and connections to the river, so it's time to move the bill."
Maryland leaders want to make sure the Landover site isn't the next blighted property to be left abandoned, like what happened to the old RFK stadium.
Former Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks previously secured $400 million for a new Blue Line corridor project to promote development in the Landover area, with or without the team.
However, county and state leaders have made it clear they want the team to stay and that Landover is the best site.
Some Landover residents who spoke to News4 agree, saying they'd like to see more development around Northwest Stadium. For instance, one nearby shopping center has a lot of vacant storefronts and is used for parking on game days.
"I'm not a football fan, but I do think that the area does have a lot of potential to be revitalized," one resident said.
Another said: "I just hope that it don't go like RFK and it just, you know, dwindles to nothing. I mean, it's a really nice stadium. Hopefully they'll still do events or something like that."
But time is running out. A deal needs to be passed by the time Congress adjourns this week.
