Commanders Running Out of Stadium Options

The Washington Commanders’ only route toward a taxpayer-financed new stadium was officially shelved Thursday. 

A day after Front Office Sports reported the stadium bill’s chances of passage looked grim, legislators announced that the bill would not be put on the floor for a vote before the current session ends in January 2023. 

One of the original bills introduced last January would have called for as much as $1 billion in public funding for the $3 billion domed stadium project. As it went into a conference committee in March, the number was cut to around $300 million. 

• Maryland passed a bill that would allow for up to $400 million in public funds to revitalize the area surrounding FedEx Field, but none of that money could be used to construct a new stadium. The team’s current lease for the stadium runs through 2027.
• The site of the dilapidated former home of the Commanders, RFK Stadium, remains an option, although public officials have stated the team would get no direct financial support for construction, and other political hurdles remain. 
• The Commanders have an option to purchase 200 acres of land near Woodbridge, Virginia. It’s not immediately clear if that $100 million option will be exercised with the stadium bill on hold indefinitely. 

Commanders’ ‘Image’ Issues

“I think there would need to be a lot of rehabilitation on the part of the team’s image for Sen. Saslaw to bring the legislation back up for consideration,” State Del. David Reid (D-Loudoun County) told FOS.