New Commanders Owner to Have More Stadium Options

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder stepped away from day-to-day duties when the NFL announced sanctions after the first outside investigation into the team. 

“I will concentrate my time during the next several months on developing a new stadium plan and other matters,” Snyder said in a statement when his team was fined $10 million in July 2021.

Snyder toured other stadiums, hired lobbyists, and then focused his efforts on building a $3 billion domed stadium in Northern Virginia. After a promising start where it looked like the Commanders could get up to $1 billion in public money, the proposed funding was cut down to $300 million before it was officially shelved last June as scandals swirled around Snyder and his team. 

“What had happened is an economic development opportunity for Virginia had, unfortunately, become a referendum on the commander’s owner,” State Del. David Reid (D-Loudoun County) told Front Office Sports.

Maryland — which was also reluctant to commit taxpayer money with Snyder in charge — could be back in play. The new owner would acquire FedEx Field and the 200 acres it sits on in Landover, and one possibility is building a new stadium on the land. 

Returning to the site of RFK Stadium in D.C., where the team played for 36 seasons, is another option, although it’d require Congress to transfer the land to the District first.  

Mayor Muriel Bowser has had discussions with the NFL, and she said last week the team would be “even more valuable when it comes home to Washington, D.C.”