Washington Commanders stadium talks may come down to Maryland-DC deal

JACK AYLMER:  As the NFL’s Washington Commanders look to build a new stadium, they’re exploring a different type of trade negotiation. One that involves the state of Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the federal government.

The team is looking for a new venue to replace their aging stadium in the DC suburb of Landover, Maryland.

DC has been trying for years to get the Commanders back into the District, using the prospect of re-developing the site of the team’s former home of RFK Stadium. The venue closed in 2019 and has been gradually deconstructed since then. And although demolition isn’t complete yet, the building itself is in disrepair, with the site around it largely empty.

But DC doesn’t own the stadium or the land. The *federal government* does. And the stadium fight found itself at an intersection with Congress’s annual must-pass bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

Now, the Washington Post is reporting Maryland’s senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin are offering DC’s government and the Commanders a trade of sorts.

They’ll allow DC to control the RFK Stadium site, But want DC to hand over one of its two Air National Guard squadrons… specifically the one with F-16 fighter jets… to Maryland. The Senators also want the Commanders to put out a statement, making clear where they want their next stadium to be and committing to help re-develop the site of the existing stadium in Maryland.

Maryland wants a National Guard flying mission, because the Air Force plans to convert Maryland’s into a ground-based mission.

DC leaders are wary. DC’s congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton released a statement saying, “D.C. rightly deserves to benefit from the land where RFK Stadium sits falling into disrepair and the exchange for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the campus to D.C. should not come at the expense of the DCNG’s aviation resources.”

The Post reports NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders owner Josh Harris met with congressional leaders and Maryland’s senators this week. Congress will likely decide in the next few weeks whether to include the stadium’s status in the NDAA bill.

And while getting the RFK Stadium land would give DC a leg up in stadium talks, DC and the Commanders would still need to negotiate a deal before construction starts on a new stadium.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Jack Aylmer.

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