The District of Columbia City Council voted 11-2 on Sept. 17, 2025, in favor of constructing a new stadium complex on the site of the old RFK Stadium, clearing the way for the NFL's Washington Commanders to leave their current home in Landover, Md.
The Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025 authorizes the "redevelopment and management" of the property on the Anacostia River, including the construction of a new stadium.
The arena aspect of the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2030, allowing the team to leave its current home at Northwest Stadium, where it has played since 1997 — when it left the old RFK Stadium for the suburbs.
Capital News Service noted Sept. 18 that the D.C. City Council also has outlined other plans to develop the property, including building restaurants, retail and approximately 5,000 housing units. The area around the RFK site is set to be finished by 2040.
"Fans of the team can rightly celebrate the return of the Commanders to the district as a major moment in our city's proud history," said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.
The council bill stated the project gives the district "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to continue to revitalize the Anacostia Waterfront … and develop a vibrant, mixed-use development featuring community sports, professional sports, public recreation, public park space and cultural amenities."
Maryland and Prince George's County officials had made a pitch to keep the team in Landover, putting together what Gov. Wes Moore called "a very competitive offer" for the team's owners last year.
But as it became increasingly apparent that the NFL club was intent on leaving, Maryland officials began "responsibly preparing for the possibility of the Washington Commanders choosing to return to Washington," Moore said in a statement in April.
Commanders owner Josh Harris signed a memorandum of understanding with Moore and Prince George's Acting County Executive, Tara H. Jackson, in December that said the team would begin demolition of the Landover stadium within 90 days of playing its first game at a new arena.
After demolition, the agreement calls on the team to work with state and county agencies to transform the 200-acre Landover site into "a vibrant mixed-use development," to include residential, retail "and other allowable uses."
In Washington, the Commanders will contribute at least $2.7 billion to the development of the RFK project as well as the full cost to build the stadium itself, which is currently estimated to cost below $500 million.
Plans call for the new stadium to have a transparent roof and capacity for up to 65,000 fans, just slightly smaller than the 67,617 who can be accommodated at Northwest Stadium, formerly known as FedEx Field.
Jurisdiction over the 180-acre property was transferred to the district in January following a decade-long effort to absorb the land from the federal government, according to Capital News Service.
Washington's NFL team began playing in the newly built D.C. Stadium in 1961 and continued to do so after its name was changed following the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The last NFL game played in RFK Stadium took place Dec. 22, 1996.
From then until it was fully closed to the public in 2019, the stadium, due east of the U.S. Capitol, was used for other sports events and entertainment.
Old Stadium Being Dismantled One Piece at a Time
Meanwhile, demolition efforts are well under way at the RFK Stadium site.
One by one, the stadium's signature roof beams are coming down as crews from Washington-based Smoot Construction are dismantling it from the top down. Metal is being cut and removed by heavy machinery, and eventually, the entire site will be leveled.
"Instead of doing an implosion, which would cause a lot of dust and other particles going into the air, we're very sensitive to making sure that all of the environmental and safety concerns were our No. 1 priority," Steven Johnson, executive vice president of Events D.C., which is overseeing the project, told Washington's WTOP Radio recently.
In the area that once held the turf where Washington football history was made, large pieces of equipment are now at work.
"One is a crane, and also another piece of equipment to take down the upper parts of the footings of the actual stadium," Johnson said.
Nina Albert, Washington's deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said watching the stadium come down is "pretty neat."
"To see a structure of this magnitude being brought down piece by piece is really dramatic. I mean, it's incredibly exciting. We're starting to see the literal steel structure of it, and it kind of reveals new layers of, you know, kind of honestly beautiful design," she said to WTOP Radio.
Albert added that the ability to see down to the Anacostia River from Capitol Hill without the stadium obstructing the view will be "insane."
"We haven't seen this view in what, 60 years, and so I would say we should all take advantage of it over the next two to three years before [the new] construction begins, and capture what it was like to have an open view to the Anacostia from this particular point," she said.
Many of the stadium's roof beams are already gone, and with 814 tons of old metal soon to be on the ground, the city is already thinking about how to give some of it new life.
"We are currently engaged in conversations with local D.C. artists as to how they can even try to use some of those materials to put in their current art pieces," Johnson noted.
Seats from the old stadium also are up for sale, and he added that Events D.D. is exploring the idea of offering more relics to fans from the demolition, which is expected to be completed by this time next year.
