DC Council-commissioned report raises questions about stadium proposal

A report commissioned by the D.C. Council raised some red flags about the Washington Commanders stadium deal on the table, though it’s unclear if any of them are too serious to overcome.

The Council commissioned three reports ahead of public hearings July 29. The report from business management consultant The Robert Bobb Group dated July 15 — the deadline Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Commanders set for the Council to act before the team can resume shopping around for a new location. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson shared the report on X late Friday.

It brought up several questions about the proposal to develop the RFK Stadium campus.

There’s uncertainty about who will be responsible for maintenance. The report recommends D.C. set a cap on how much will be covered by a maintenance fund and ensure the Commanders cover any overruns.

The report found construction delays could reduce tax revenue. If the stadium is going to open by 2030 as the team wants groundbreaking needs to happen next year.

Another concern about tax revenue is that riverfront development might not happen quickly enough. The report recommends a provision for the team to return control of some land to D.C. if it stays undeveloped for too long.

The report also raises concerns about transportation and parking and cites a lack of a comprehensive public safety plan. News4 reports there have been discussions about adding a new D.C. Fire and EMS station.

Earlier Friday, News4 asked Mendelson about the pressure on the Council to quickly approve the deal.

“The bottom line is, I want to emphasize, we’ve had this for less than seven weeks,” he said. “And instead of ‘how can we all work together, answer questions, see if we can make the deal better,’ there’s been this almost daily mantra of ‘the Council needs to act quickly, act without a hearing, act without any analyses, act without any due diligence.’ And that has not been helpful.”

Comer urges Council to act before August recess

Some of that pressure came from the head of the House Oversight Committee Thursday.

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, wrote a letter to Mendelson urging city leaders to vote on the new stadium before their August recess.

“Congress has already spoken on this matter through the bipartisan H.R. 4984, which was signed by President Biden on January 6, 2025. The law was designed specifically to enable the District to advance expeditiously with this transformational opportunity,” Comer said in the letter.

While the Council has made a preliminary vote on the financing of the deal, Mendelson removed the bulk of the stadium legislation from the upcoming budget vote and has said it’s unlikely the Council will vote on that before September.

President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he might intervene on behalf of the Commanders if the Council fails to approve the stadium deal.