The Washington D.C. City Council has finalized the move of the NFL's Washington Commanders to a $3.7 billion facility on the present site of RFK Stadium.
In an 11-2 vote that survived some last minute amendments posed from a handful of council members, the Council's decision gives the team the green light to begin construction once the RFK facility is demolished, with a scheduled opening date of September 2030.
It is with great pride that I can say we are officially bringing our Commanders home and turning 180 acres of land on the banks of the Anacostia, on the monumental axis, into jobs and opportunity for DC residents" said Mayor Muriel Bowser, less than two years after a similar move helped keep NBA and NHL teams at Capital One Arena.
"The city's contribution to the project includes $500 million for stadium infrastructure, more than $350 million for parking garages, and $202 million for utilities and a transit study," wrote the Washington Post. "The city will also finance a sportsplex that will be run by the Department of Parks and Recreation and include an indoor track and other space for youth sports. And the city will raise and dedicate funding for transit improvements, including a possible expansion of the Stadium-Armory Metro station or a new station entirely."
The modern NFL stadium is not about eight home games a year, it's about hosting events for the rest of the year. The proposed 65,000 seat indoor stadium opens Washington to major events such as the Super Bowl, political conventions, college football playoffs, NCAA Regionals and the Final Four, NBA All-Star games, UFC fights, Wrestlemania, and other such events, but also to events closely related in the community. This also offers some long range opportunities for Georgetown, even if present day attendance for men's basketball, football, and soccer seem a world removed.
Georgetown's 1989 basketball game versus LSU at the Louisiana Superdome, a single game event broadcast nationwide on CBS, remains the largest crowd ever to witness a Georgetown sports event, with a paid attendance of 66,144. What about 2030 and beyond? A doubleheader with nationally prominent teams or a matchup with a top ranked team may seem distant to a program which has not posted a sellout at Capital One Arena in 12 years, but opportunities await in a showplace facility. Similarly, opportunities in soccer, lacrosse, or even football (which holds the distinction of the last scheduled sporting event at RFK Stadium in a 2017 game) wouldn't sell out the building but could be an interesting promotional and recruiting opportunity.
Howard?
Villanova?
Navy?
For now, anyway, put that aside. Whether you call them the Commanders or still call them the Redskins, the NFL is headed to the District for the first time in nearly 30 years, and that's a big deal.
