Is the RFK site back in the picture as a new Washington stadium?

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July 10, 2023

by Steve Thomas

A small but potentially important bit of news about the RFK Stadium site in the District of Columbia came out last week.  WUSA 9’s Evan brought us this report:

Representative James Comer (R-KY) is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee – the committee that investigated Dan Snyder when it was under Democratic leadership last year – so he is one of the more influential members of Congress.  This, then, is a good sign, for those rooting for the RFK site.  I can’t recall any Congressional interest in that property in many years.  This news from Representative Comer is the first sign that any action at all is on the radar scope in any capacity.

What has to happen from here in order for the Redskins Washington Football Team Commanders this iteration of the Washington team to play there?  Quite a bit.  All Comer has done is state at a hearing that a bill is being prepared, which is a far cry from approved, signed legislation resulting in construction of a stadium.  First, this bill will need actually provide for a scenario in which a stadium can actually be built.  For those who aren’t aware, the site is owned by the federal government and leased to the District of Columbia through 2038, which isn’t nearly enough time to build and operate a new NFL stadium.  Therefore, in order for this property to be redeveloped by the District and/or a third party such as Josh Harris, the federal government needs to take some sort of action, either to (1) extend the lease, without prohibiting stadium development, (2) sell the property outright to the District, (3) sell the property directly to a third party, such as Harris, or (4) redevelop the property themselves.  Option 4 strikes me as extremely unlikely, but this bill needs to do one of these things.

Then, this bill would need to be approve by the House subcommittee, presumably Comer’s Oversight Committee, then passed by the full House of Representatives, approved by the Senate, and signed by the President.  If you haven’t noticed, Congress has some serious political divides right now, so getting a bill of any type through both houses isn’t guaranteed.  That’s quite a few steps that need to happen between now and a stadium coming to fruition.

Perhaps more importantly, though, the imaged quote at the bottom of Koslof’s tweet may give us the biggest clue as to the status of this effort – it quotes Committee Spokesman Austin Hacker as stating, “As Chairman Comer at the hearing with D.C. Mayor Bowser, he is interested in working with her and the city on a variety of issues, including the RFK stadium site.  Committee staff continue to have fruitful discussions with the Mayor’s team and other stakeholders on these issues.”  To me, this sounds like a fairly routine political statement, not one that is signaling an imminent piece of legislation.  It reads more like a politician making a conciliatory statement at the end of a hearing more than something substantive.

Let’s pretend, though, that Congress actually does take action.  What’s most likely, and what would a deal possibly look like?  As I stated above, I think the least likely option by far, is for the federal government to directly participate in a stadium development.  That’s simply not going to happen.   Similarly, it seems nearly as unlikely that the federal government would enter into some sort of agreement directly with a third party such as Harris.  For one thing, the property is still leased to the District of Columbia through 2038, so the federal government wouldn’t have the right to do that without DC’s consent, but more than that, I don’t believe that the federal government would want to get involved in such an endeavor.  For its part, I assume the District of Columbia would be much more in favor of the federal government simply selling them the property; whether or not that’s in the cards is anyone’s guess.  Either way, a new lease or a sale would give DC the right to build a new stadium.

Does the District even want a stadium, though?  The local residents have said for years that they’d prefer something besides a football stadium on the RFK site, but that was prior to Snyder’s department.  The DC City Council had the same reaction, pre-Harris.  I would think that City Council may come around, but the residents near the site may not.  That’s another obstacle to overcome.

Finally, funding remains a big challenge for the District, probably moreso than either Maryland or Virginia.  The District doesn’t have the same amount of tax revenue as a state, and they are still paying debt service on Nats Park.  How is the DC going to be able to commit enough money to entice Harris to abandon both Virginia and Maryland?  Bond sales?  Perhaps, but I suspect that both states can ultimately outspend the District.  That’s another major challenge.

Don’t get me wrong: all of these hurdles could still be overcome.  I’m not saying it’s impossible.  Just remember, though, that last week’s news about Representative Comer is just the first step on a long, arduous, and unlikely journey.  As for me, I’m personally not particularly excited about the RFK site.  The legacy of the Redskins is gone, never to return, having been murdered by political correctness, corruption, greed, and other things, and the new expansion franchise that took its place just isn’t the same.  RFK Stadium is all but a memory now, and the new owners would be wise to try to forge a new future, not recreate the past.  Sometimes, you can never go home again.