Commanders and the D.C. government are in talks on a stadium deal, AP source says

The NFL’s Washington Commanders and the District of Columbia are in discussions about a new football stadium in the nation’s capital, a person with knowledge of talks said Wednesday.

No deal has been finalized yet, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because there was no agreement in place.

The team has been looking for a new stadium for several years, and that search moved to a new level when Josh Harris' group bought the Commanders from previous owner Dan Snyder in 2023. Places in Washington, Virginia and Maryland have all been under consideration.

The site of old RFK Stadium is believed to be the preferred destination. The Washington NBC affiliate reported Wednesday that the team and D.C. government were close on an agreement to build there, with the framework of a deal north of $3 billion.

“In the coming days, we will share more on our growth agenda by highlighting our next budget to grow D.C. and outlining a plan to realize abundant opportunities at our RFK (site) as we forge ahead with shaping D.C.'s future economy,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said in a statement.

Getting back to the franchise's former home is a path that included Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill in December to pass legislation to transfer the 170-plus acres of land from the federal government to D.C. It made it through Congress at the eleventh hour, and former President Joe Biden signed it into law in early January.

The Commanders' lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at RFK Stadium, 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the Capitol, from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.

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