Washington, D.C., City Council approves stadium deal

The City Council of Washington, D.C., has preliminarily approved a deal that will move the NFL’s Washington Commanders from their current home in Prince George’s County, Maryland to what will be a renovated RFK stadium in Southeast Washington. 

“The era of a crumbling sea of asphalt on the banks of the Anacostia is finally coming to an end,” said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement.  

“In its place, we will bring our team home and deliver a state-of-the-art, Super Bowl ready stadium for our Commanders, more than 6,000 new homes for DC residents, a SportsPlex for our kids, parks and recreation space for the community, and so much more.” 

The $3.7 billion deal is split between the team contributing $2.7 billion to renovate the stadium and convert the surrounding 180 acres into a mixed-use development that will include housing and hospitality.

The city has agreed to kick in over a $1 billion in infrastructure improvements that will likely be bond-financed.

Improvements to the National Hockey League’s Washington Capital’s home arena in Chinatown and building the Nationals Park Baseball stadium were both bankrolled with public money. 

The deal still has to pass a final Council vote scheduled for September.  

Negotiations between the mayor and city council over the terms of the football stadium agreement slowed the fast-moving deal but a 9-3 majority vote was cast last Friday after the team agreed to provide more union jobs during development and construction. 

The haggling leading to the vote included the city getting parking revenues during non-stadium event days, parking tax revenue, along with sales tax revenue on merchandise, food and beverages. The amount of extra revenue is pegged at $674 million over 30 years.  

The team is benefitting from real estate tax abatements and other exemptions valued at $61.3 million for fiscal years 2027-2029, with a total of $1.48 billion through fiscal year 2059. 

Financing three major league team facilities by relying on public money could become riskier as the Washington metropolitan area is currently being hit with higher unemployment rates. The Trump administration’s moves to downsize the federal government is getting the blame for the drops.  

According to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment in Washington D.C hit a three-year high of 5.9% in June and has been on an upward trajectory since December 2024. 

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer tracks unemployment claims for former federal employees and shows steady increases for the city, Maryland and Virginia.     

The credit ratings agencies have taken note of the economic changes happening in the region and are responding. Moody’s Ratings downgraded Maryland’s issuer rating and general obligation bonds to Aa1 from Aaa in May.

The city took a hit in April when Moody’s downgraded six groups of Washington, D.C., bonds, resulting in  a ratings change to Aa1 from Aaa with a negative outlook.   

The city and the state of Maryland have both launched successful bonds sales since the downgrades.