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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris met with Congressional lawmakers Monday to lobby on behalf of a bill that could lead to the NFL’s return to D.C., a league source confirmed to Front Office Sports.
The push comes two weeks after the RFK Stadium bill—which would give D.C. more control of the federally controlled land that could be used for a new stadium—passed a Senate committee vote and now must pass a full Senate vote before the Senate is expected to adjourn on Dec. 20.
Goodell and Harris met with legislators throughout Monday afternoon to address any concerns about the bill and to discuss “other league matters,” the source told FOS. Politico was first to report that Goodell and Harris were on Capitol Hill.
Optimism that the bill will get a vote has spiked since Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) backed off his threat to block the bill before it could get past the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It was Daines who urged the Commanders to more forcefully recognize Walter “Blackie” Wetzel for his contributions to the team’s former Native American headdress logo used from 1972-2020, which led to a plaque at the stadium for Wetzel.
By a 15-vote margin, the bill, formally titled the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, advanced out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 19.
“I’d expect opposition from the Senators in Maryland and potentially Virginia, but with a 17-2 vote out of committee, you have to expect they have the votes,” George Washington Law professor Melinda Roth says. “It will really just matter what this gets attached to. As long as it gets attached to something, it’s likely going to happen.”
Since it stands very little chance of passing as a standalone bill, work behind the scenes has focused on finding other legislation it could pass alongside, according to Congressional sources.
Beyond the overwhelming committee vote, a Congressional source also credited the effort by the NFL and Commanders to boost the bill’s chances. The source also cited D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and her office’s work to advance the bill in the Senate, where D.C. has no representation.
The bill passed the House in rare bipartisan fashion in February. It would award D.C. a 99-year lease to develop the 174 acres that encompass the old RFK site, where the team played until relocating to Landover, Md., in 1996.
If the bill passes, D.C. would be an option alongside Virginia and Maryland for the next Commanders stadium. The team is aiming to play in a new stadium by 2030.
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