A bill that could lead to a new Washington Commanders stadium in D.C. passed the U.S. House of Representatives 348-55 Wednesday evening.
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.
“Tonight’s vote was a significant step forward in our efforts to unlock the full potential of the RFK campus — for our residents and visitors, the community, and D.C.’s comeback," Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a news released.
While Bowser has butted heads with the Republican-led house over issues like crime, when it comes to RFK, she 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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“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,” 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.”
Several Maryland lawmakers planned to vote against the bill. Republican Andy Harris and Democrats David Trone, John Sarbanes, Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume and Glenn Ivey told News4 they oppose the bill, in part because Maryland is competing to keep the Commanders.
“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.
Now the bill goes 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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