Will Proposed RFK Stadium Development Negatively Impact Washington Nationals?

It’s been nearly 30 years since the Washington Commanders moved from RFK Stadium to its current home in Landover, Md. On Monday, they announced that they could be coming back. Washington D.

C. mayor Muriel Bowser and the NFL announced Monday morning that they hope to turn the RFK Stadium site into a new entertainment district with a 65,000-seat Commanders stadium, plus 6,000 new homes. The price tag is, potentially, $3.



7 billion. Along with the stadium and housing there is a plan for an entertainment district, recreation hub and a 30-mile stretch along the Anacostia River that will include a riverfront community commons. It’s an ambitions project.

The hope is that the stadium will be open by 2030. It’s also roughly five miles away from Nationals Park, the home of the Washington Nationals . Bowser said that she wants D.

C. to commit $1 billion to the project, with the Commanders picking up the rest. Even at $1 billion, that’s a lot for a city to contribute.

The money won’t come from the city’s operating budget but rather its capital fund. Along with that, D.C.

will repurpose existing fees on businesses that helped pay Nationals Park's debt. So, should that worry the Nationals? After all, their stadium opened in 2008. The stadium’s construction helped transform the Navy Yard area.

Eventually, it will need maintenance. The Nats paid for stadium upgrades this year. The Nats have their own projects, too.

Earlier this year the D.C. Council approved funding for park upgrades, if Washington commits to a lease through 2054.

That funding will help upgrade Nationals Park and allow it to function on non-game days. The proposal would create retail areas along First Street SE and enhance parking garages to blend in with the area. Late last year, the D.

C. Council proposed a ballpark maintenance fund that would give the Nationals access for up to $350 million in upgrades, if needed. It would be funded from taxes created in the stadium.

A fund like that would seem to ensure the Nationals would be able to handle the cost of repairs based on the revenue they generate. The lease extension would be a small price to pay for the upgrades around the stadium. It would also, most likely, keep the Nationals’ sources of funding from mingling with the Commanders’ or worse yet have it taken away to help fund the proposed new stadium.

The concept can help both franchises and the D.C. area.

Bringing the NFL back to the area would be a good thing. Cutting off funding from the Nationals to pay for it would not. Recommended Articles.