WASHINGTON — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris met with congressional lawmakers Monday on Capitol Hill as efforts push forward to secure access to the RFK Stadium site in the District of Columbia.
Two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed Goodell and Harris held a series of meetings concerning the RFK Stadium proposal, among other topics. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because their appearance on Capitol Hill was not publicized.
According to one of the people, the ongoing security issue of drones on game days was also discussed in meetings with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Goodell remained in the area after attending the Commanders’ game Sunday against Tennessee at aging Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources last month passed the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act on to the full Senate for approval. If passed and signed into law by the president, it would transfer the land with the husk of the former stadium and surrounding areas less than 2 miles east of the U.S. Capitol from the federal to the D.C. government for up to 99 years.
D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton called it a “win-win for the federal and D.C. governments” that could “transform the campus from acres of asphalt to a complex focused on community sports, recreation, park space and cultural amenities.”
James Comer, R-Ky., who has been advocating for a stadium deal, said, “This will help pave a path for the nation’s capital to create meaningful new jobs, add millions in city revenue and transform the city’s vacant RFK waterfront into a lively destination for all Americans.”
It is no guarantee the Commanders would build their next state-of-the-art stadium there, but getting this agreement done is one of the major steps in paving the way to making it possible to return to what had been the organization's home from 1961-96.
“The Commanders have been fortunate to have interest from three incredible jurisdictions as we search for a new home and stadium,” a team spokesperson said in a statement. “The vote ... brings us one step closer towards continuing conversations with D.C., along with Maryland and Virginia, as a potential future home for our franchise.”
Sites in the District, Maryland and Virginia all remain in the running for the new stadium, a process that was ongoing long before Harris' group bought the team from longtime owner Dan Snyder last year for a North American professional sports record $6.05 billion.
Harris and several of his co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up in the area and were fans of the team when it played at RFK during the glory days, which included Super Bowl titles in 1982, ‘87 and ’91.
They took control after Snyder rebranded as the Commanders, following a temporary stint as the Washington Football Team when he bowed to pressure from sponsors and activists in the summer of 2020, dropping the name the franchise was known by for nearly nine decades. It could change again, though Harris has said the old name would not return.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mon., last summer threatened to block the RFK Stadium bill until the NFL and the Commanders honor, in some form, the old Indian head logo that was designed by a member of the Blackfeet Nation in the state of Montana.
Daines recently gave his blessing, saying there had been "good faith negotiations” with the league and team about using the old logo. A spokesperson for Daines said last week part of the ongoing negotiations are related to using the old logo to support Native American philanthropic causes and plans to show the logo on future merchandise.
A spokesperson for Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md, who is retiring at the end of his term, said Maryland lawmakers will support D.C. having control of the site, but there are some items on the table.
First, they want the Commanders to make a public statement declaring where they would prefer to play; second, they said the team needs a plan for what would be built in place of Northwest Stadium in Landover where the team currently plays. This is key to lawmakers in Maryland, the spokesperson told WUSA9.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md, said the team needs to take part in what happens to Northwest Stadium if they were to leave Landover.
“Maryland has served as the proud home of the Commanders for over 20 years, and Governor Moore and others have put forward proposals to encourage them to stay here," Van Hollen said. "As the team looks to the future, Maryland is seeking an even playing field in the stadium selection negotiations, one where the scales are not tilted in favor of one location over another at the expense of federal taxpayers. If the Commanders are considering a move, our state also needs assurances that the current property will be redeveloped in a way that benefits the community.”