A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that could lead to a new Washington Commanders stadium in D.C. faces opposition from many congressmembers from Maryland.
The legislation would give the District control of the federal-government-owned RFK Stadium site for 99 years, allowing for new development including a stadium on 174 acres along the Anacostia River and steps from the Stadium-Armory Metro station.
“You know how long we've been working to get control of RFK for a long enough period of time where the District can make significant investments in it, and we're very close to getting there,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “It's over a hundred of acres sitting on a very prominent, monumental access on a river, and we need to remove the blight and have great development.”
While Bowser has butted heads with the Republican-led house over issues like crime, when it comes to RFK, she has forged a partnership with Republican Rep. James Comer, D-Ky., who is spearheading the effort to give D.C. long-term control over the land, including the ability to build housing and retail as well as a new stadium.
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While the legislation has rare bipartisan support in the House, several Maryland lawmakers plan to vote against it. Republican Andy Harris and Democrats David Trone, John Sarbanes, Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume and Glenn Ivey said they oppose the bill, in part because Maryland is competing to keep the Commanders. Democrats Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin have not said how they will vote.
“When I commute into D.C. I go right by the stadium and I’ve been doing that for decades now, so I understand that redevelopment there would be a great thing for the city, but that doesn’t mean that it should be done in a way that doesn’t allow us to have equal footing to compete to keep the Commanders in Prince George’s County,” Ivey said.
He said he objects to D.C. getting federal land for free.
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If the bill passes the House, it will go to the U.S. Senate where it’s expected to face opposition from Democratic Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.
Washington played home games at RFK Stadium from 1961-1996 before moving to FedExField in Landover, Maryland. Rushed to completion under previous owner Jack Kent Cooke, that stadium has not aged well in the decades since.
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