{"id":681317,"date":"2026-01-16T08:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T08:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/681317\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T08:01:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T08:01:47","slug":"commanders-unveil-initial-renderings-for-new-stadium-in-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/681317\/","title":{"rendered":"Commanders unveil initial renderings for new stadium in DC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Washington Commanders unveiled the first renderings of what they plan to build on the old RFK Stadium site in D.C. on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_Conceptual-view-from-East-during-the-day-1880x1058.jpg\" alt=\"Commanders new stadium\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              An initial rendering of the new Washington Commanders in Northeast D.C.<br \/>\n(Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/5_Conceptual-view-from-East-at-night-1880x1058.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              An initial rendering showing the new Washington Commanders in front of the U.S. Capitol.<br \/>\n(Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/3_Conceptual-aerial-view-from-northwest.jpg\" alt=\"Commanders stadium renderings\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              An aerial rendering of the new Washington Commanders stadium.<br \/>\n(Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/4_Conceptual-view-from-Anacostia-River-at-night-1880x1058.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              An initial rendering showing the new Washington Commanders in D.C. at night.<br \/>\n(Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2_Conceptual-view-from-Anacostia-River-during-the-day-1880x1057.jpg\" alt=\"Commanders new stadium\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              An initial rendering of the new Washington Commanders from the Anacostia River in Northeast D.C.<br \/>\n(Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS)                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                Courtesy Washington Commanders\/HKS                            <\/p>\n<p>The Washington Commanders unveiled the first renderings of what they plan to build on the old RFK Stadium site in D.C. on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I\u2019ve heard so far from D.C. residents is that they like the nod to the old RFK Stadium with the movement that you see in the buildings,\u201d Mayor Muriel Bowser told WTOP anchors Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer. \u201cThey like the nod to the monuments in D.C., but also with a modern flare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another planned feature of the stadium that Bowser said residents are celebrating is the translucent domed roof \u2014 something the mayor and fans have <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/washington-commanders\/2025\/04\/dc-mayor-bowser-responds-to-praise-and-pushback-on-commanders-stadium-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">long pushed for<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A news release put out Thursday describes it as a \u201cdynamic, year-round destination for sports, entertainment and community engagement, integrating sustainable design practices and reimagining the fan experience through immersive space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked by WTOP about whether the roof should be retractable to enjoy snow games, the mayor touted the benefits of climate control in a stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a mayor, so I hate snow,\u201d Bowser said. \u201cBut more than that, what we see in so many of the new stadiums is this feeling of being outside, while you can have the enjoyment of climate control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n    Mayor Muriel Bowser reacts to the renderings with WTOP&#8217;s Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson.<\/p>\n<p>She said the design feature fits the stadium\u2019s budget and will allow the venue to host music and entertainment events in addition to games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I was talking about this to the community, I would frequently mention an artist who<a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/dc\/2022\/11\/dc-area-taylor-swift-fans-question-blank-space-in-her-upcoming-eras-tour-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> wouldn\u2019t even come to our area<\/a> because we didn\u2019t have the right stadium,\u201d Bowser said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s Taylor Swift, and I think many people would love to welcome her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/dc\/2025\/11\/commanders-select-texas-based-architecture-firm-to-design-new-dc-stadium\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Commanders selected HKS,<\/a> a Dallas, Texas-based architecture and design firm, as the lead architect for the team\u2019s new stadium in November.<\/p>\n<p>The architecture firm joined the Commanders and D.C. in hosting meetings with the community to help inform the stadium\u2019s design, according to the news release.<\/p>\n<p>Team President Mark Clouse said the design prioritizes the fan experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud to share the first visuals of our future stadium, a defining milestone in the next phase of the development process,\u201d Clouse said in a news release. He added that the design \u201ctruly embodies the spirit and character of the District.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Construction is expected to be completed in 2030. The stadium is supposed to accommodate 70,000 people when it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n<p>Building a new stadium has been a priority for Bowser since RFK was shuttered in 2017. The <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/dc\/2025\/12\/looking-back-how-the-commanders-rfk-stadium-deal-came-together-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">stadium deal came together<\/a> during her last term as D.C.\u2019s mayor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would feel very bad after three terms in office, if we just had asphalt and a crumbling stadium,\u201d Bowser said. \u201cInstead, what we\u2019ll have is shovels in the ground, dirt moving, people hired and a vision to transform 180 acres on the Anacostia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>WTOP\u2019s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"single-page__signature bottom\">Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/newsletter-signup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"single-page__signature bottom\">\u00a9 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Washington Commanders unveiled the first renderings of what they plan to build on the old RFK Stadium&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,9400,7,35065,6,4336,99539,855,111,2480],"class_list":["post-681317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-washington-commanders","tag-commanders","tag-commanders-stadium","tag-football","tag-hks","tag-nfl","tag-rfk-stadium","tag-stadium-renderings","tag-washington","tag-washington-commanders","tag-washingtoncommanders"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115903736523640891","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}