WASHINGTON (7News) — A report created by a consultant for the D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration claims the Washington Commanders’ proposed football stadium at the old RFK site will generate massive amounts of money, assuming the area comes with massive redevelopment.
CSL’s report claims this $3.2-billion-dollar project – some of which will be footed by taxpayers – will generate more than $24 billion over 33 years, along with $5.1 billion in tax revenue.
ALSO READ | DC’s FY26 budget includes $972 million for RFK campus development to support new stadium
The vision here is a new stadium surrounded by 8 million square feet of mixed-use development like new housing, hotels, office space, restaurants, and retail.
“Actually, they’re pretty conservative,” Mayor Bowser told 7News Friday in terms of the report’s numbers. “When we look at the number of jobs created, tax revenue generated, the adjacent economic activity that’s created, we think it could be even bigger.”
But according to experts who track the economics of stadium deals, some of the conclusions CSL has come up with are based on economic assumptions difficult to predict. That’s according to University of Maryland Assistant Professor Michael Friedman, who told us on WJLA 24/7, ” They are extraordinarily optimistic. There are a number of unrealistic assumptions in the report so much so that I believe this is a PR document rather than a serious attempt at economic analysis to drive policy.”
WATCH| Expert says Mayor Bowser’s economic impact of Commanders Stadium a “PR Document”
Mayor Bowser countered that the city has a very successful recent track record in this milieu.
“I know that our experience in public investment in sports has paid off and has paid off faster and more than we anticipated and we no doubt that that will be the case here,” she said.
The general plan from here: D.C. Councilmembers are expected to vote on the stadium deal in late July into early August. If all goes according to plan, a groundbreaking will happen in late 2026 with opening kickoff in the Fall of 2030.
To read the CSL report, click here.