Key lawmakers offer bill to ease return for NFL team to Washington

A bipartisan duo of lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday that would help turn the site of Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium into a new multipurpose development, which could greenlight the eventual return of the NFL’s Washington Commanders to the district. 

According to a news release, the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act will transfer the administrative jurisdiction over the RFK Stadium site from the secretary of the Interior to the administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA). 

The proposed bill allows the GSA to enter a leasing agreement with D.C. officials, where the agreement allows the D.C. government to use the land for stadium redevelopment, commercial and residential development, or other public purposes. 

The bill was introduced by House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) 

“The House Oversight Committee remains committed to working with Washington, D.C. officials to ensure a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come. After discussing city initiatives with D.C. Mayor Bowser and other local stakeholders, it has become clear that addressing the deteriorating conditions at the RFK Memorial stadium site is a top economic priority for the city,” Comer said in a statement, saying that the legislation will pave the way for “local officials to create meaningful new jobs, add millions in city revenue, and transform the Anacostia River waterfront into a lively destination for all.”

“The RFK site sits on underused federal land in D.C. that could be redeveloped, generating tax revenue for D.C.,” Norton said in her statement. “Neither the Mayor nor the Council Chair opposes this bill, which would allow D.C. to put the site to productive use — a vast improvement on the current state of affairs. I look forward to working with Chairman Comer to pass this bill as quickly as possible.”

It’s been a week since NFL owners unanimously voted to approve the sale of the Commanders from Dan Snyder to a group led by private-equity billionaire and D.C.-area native Josh Harris. 

The NFL also fined Snyder $60 million as a result of an investigation conducted by former U.S. Attorney and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White on the former owner of the team. 

White’s investigation concluded Snyder sexually harassed former team employee Tiffani Johnston and that the team also withheld $11 million in league revenue that should’ve been shared with other teams, adding that Snyder, who purchased the team in 1999, was aware of the executive’s efforts to minimize its revenue sharing obligations. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), and D.C. Muriel Bowser (D) have expressed interest to have the team play its home games in their respective states and districts.

The Commanders, who play at FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, Md., played at RFK from 1961 to 1996.

Bowser announced on Thursday the creation of a team that will work within her administration’s economic development department “to plan, coordinate, and support professional and recreational sports” in the city. 

The newly created team will work closely with the city’s professional teams and “coordinate across District agencies and with Events DC to maintain, expand, and attract world-class sports teams and sporting events” in the city.