A day after the Commanders and D.C. announced $3 billion plans to return the team to RFK Stadium, News4 is drilling down into the agreement the team and city signed.
The term sheet is about 30 pages and contains details that will directly affect fans and taxpayers.
Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.
WATCH HEREThe document says fans would have to buy the rights to a seat, on top of the cost of tickets. Personal seat licenses, used in other stadiums across the U.S., are a one-time fee and can cost thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars per seat.
The District owns the right to the seat licenses but, according to the deal, will convey them to the team to sell and offset their costs to build the stadium.
We have the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.
SIGN UP The District will own the stadium. D.C. owns Nationals Park and now Capital One Arena. But the team will be responsible for maintenance. Rent will cost the team $1 per year.
The mayor and D.C. Council will each get an 18-person box near the 30-yard line. They have a similar arrangement at Capital One Arena.
The District also will get complimentary use days for the stadium, when the city could produce their own events. D.C. has a similar arrangement at Nationals Park but has rarely used it.
There is a short deadline for the deal to approved by the D.C. Council: July 15. Chairman Phil Mendelson has already complained about not being consulted on the timeline.
The team will get all parking revenue for all events for all the parking garages set to be built by the city.
There is a provision that the stadium could be a possible venue for D.C.’s women’s soccer team.
The team would pay no property taxes on the stadium.
Sales tax revenue stays within the stadium first to pay off the financing, then any extra would go to support maintenance of the development.
Do the mayor and the Commanders have the DC Council votes to make this happen?
Mayor Muriel Bowser will need seven votes on the D.C. Council to get the project approved.
Four out of 12 council members attended the news conference Monday by the mayor, team and NFL: Anita Bonds, Wendell Felder, Kenyan McDuffie and Brooke Pinto. We’ll list them as likely “yes” votes.
We’ll list Mendelson, Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau in the likely “no” column.
That leaves us with five likely swing votes: Matt Frumin, Janeese Lewis George, Christina Henderson, Zachary Parker and Robert White.
Parker put out a statement Tuesday that moves him closer to the likely “yes” column, or he’s at least a maybe.
What happens if the DC Council votes down the Commanders stadium project?
Team owner Josh Harris said Monday he has a Plan B, which is probably going back and negotiating with Maryland.
When the council approved the Nationals Park deal, it blew up at the last minute and the council voted "no." But they kept negotiating and eventually reached a deal.
Then, there’s the wild card of Congress and President Donald Trump. If the council blocks the plan, it’s possible Trump could step in, override them and even use the clash as a reason to impose more federal control over the city.
