Washington, DC’s football team, the Commanders, will replace its former home, the derelict RFK Memorial Stadium, with the $3.6bn “New Commanders Stadium”, able to accommodate 65,000 spectators.
Washington mayor Muriel Bowser, the team’s managing partner Josh Harris, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the plan Monday.
Mayor Bowser has long wanted to lure the team back from Maryland, where they’ve played since 1996.
The scheme became economically feasible after Congress gave the city permission to use the 70ha of federally owned land surrounding RFK last December.
Bowser said: “When we got control of the land on the banks of the Anacostia, we knew right away that partnering with the Commanders would be the fastest and surest route to bringing the RFK campus to life.
“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to ward seven.”
Harris added that the RFK Stadium held a “legendary place in our history” thanks to the Commanders’ (formerly the Redskins’) three Super Bowl wins there.
He said: “Now, we have the opportunity to honour that legacy by building a new world-class stadium – one that is also a once-in-a-generation catalyst for uplifting and transforming our region.”
If all goes according to plan, construction could begin next year and complete in time for the 2030 season.
The new ground will do away with the vast parking lot that surrounded the RFK stadium. The masterplan for the scheme would make this into three development districts – Plaza , Riverfront and Kingman Park.
These will offer up to 6,000 houses, of which 30% will be affordable, as well as shops, leisure amenities and a park along the Anacostia River.
Funding for the project will come from a number of sources. The city is to issue a $175m bond, to be funded by sales income from the stadium. It will also make $202m available for power and transport infrastructure.
Events DC, the district’s convention and sports authority, will invest $181m for garages, to be repaid from parking fees.
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