The D.C. Council voted unanimously to accept the extension of the lease for the RFK Stadium site approved by Congresss and former President Joe Biden, clearing the way for the District to begin long-term planning for the 174 acres along the Anacostia River.
The vote allows Mayor Muriel Bowser to move forward with negotiations with the Washington Commanders on bringing the team and a new stadium to D.C.
Team owner Josh Harris told reporters Monday he is open to offers from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and is looking to have a new stadium open for the 2030 season. The lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027.
While many see D.C. as the frontrunner for the new stadium, the mayor must still convince the majority of the Council to go along.
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Bowser has not said how much public money she’s willing to spend on bringing the team back.
Bowser and Harris both attended the bill signing at the White House.
The U.S. Senate passed the standalone bill at the last minute in December after it was removed from Congress' slimmed-down, short-term spending bill as lawmakers raced to pass it before a government shutdown.
The team played at RFK Stadium two miles east of the Capitol from 1961 to 1996 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships between 1982 and 1991.
The bill transfers administrative jurisdiction of the RFK site from the Secretary of the Interior to the D.C. government. While the federal government will still own the land, D.C. will be able to redevelop it for a stadium, commercial and residential development, and other public purposes, according to the office of U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, who introduced the bill.
The U.S. House passed the bill in February.
