The Washington Commanders and the District have reached a deal for a new stadium at the RFK Stadium site Monday morning.

The Washington Commanders and the District have reached a deal for a new stadium at the RFK Stadium site, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday morning.

Additional deals will be revealed by Bowser and Commanders owner Josh Harris in an 11 a.m. news conference.

The deal would need to be approved by the D.C. Council.

The time is now. Let’s bring the @Commanders home. pic.twitter.com/SCLkVsfXuk

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) April 28, 2025

Mayor Bower posted a short video on social media, voiced by team legend Joe Theismann, announcing ourrfk.dc.gov as the website to follow for more details. 

“The time is now,” Theismann said. “Let’s bring Washington back to D.C.”

RFK Stadium is currently in the process of being demolished — a lengthy project expected to take about 22 months.

Critics didn’t want a new stadium at the site, as WTOP’s Nick Iannelli reported. Locals have said they would rather see housing being built than another stadium.

“We envision a giant neighborhood in that area, that doesn’t exist currently, with maybe homes for 30,000 people,” said Adam Eidinger, one of the organizers of the “Homes Not Stadiums” effort.

Precisely what to do with the site has been up for debate since the stadium closed in 2017.

Earlier this month, NBC Washington reported documents showed the Commanders would put as much as $2.5 billion toward the project, and the District would pledge $850 million which would go to infrastructure improvements that would benefit the community — not just the stadium.

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 July 2023. Spots across D.C., Virginia and Maryland were all under consideration, as WTOP previously reported.

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 back in January.

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

RFK Stadium’s history
Mark Rypien, quarterback for the Washington Redskins steps out of the pocket during a NFC West Division game against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13, 1991 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. (Doug Pensinger/Allsport/Getty Images)

RFK Stadium was one of the most iconic sports venues in the District.

It has seen its fair share of history — from exhilarating moments in sports to unforgettable concerts and political events. It all started back in 1961, when the stadium opened its doors as a state-of-the-art sports complex.

It was originally called “D.C. Stadium,” then later renamed in honor of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy after his assassination in 1968.

For decades, RFK was the heartbeat of D.C. sports.

Washington’s NFL team would play at the stadium from 1961 until they moved to FedEx Field in Landover by 1997.

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.

But the departure never meant the stadium would go quiet — its walls would go on to echo with the sounds of soccer and baseball games.

It hosted the Washington Nationals when they moved to D.C. in 2005. Plus, the D.C. United soccer team made RFK its home for years, cementing the stadium as a key figure in the city’s sports identity.

RFK wasn’t just for sports, though.

The stadium hosted everything from concerts by legends like The Rolling Stones and U2 to historic political events like Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the March on Washington. It became a place where the energy of the city could be felt, no matter what the event was.

Though RFK’s last professional sporting event was held in 2017, the stadium’s legacy lives on.

This is a developing story, stay with WTOP for the latest.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Matt Small and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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