DC City Council passes $3.7B stadium spending bill, NFL's Commanders set to return to Washington

The D.C. City Council on Wednesday approved a $3.7 billion deal to rebuild and renovate the vacant RFK stadium property to officially bring the NFL back to Washington, D.C.

The team, now named the Washington Commanders, has since 1997 played its home games in suburban Maryland.

The measure, officially known as the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025, passed on a 12-1 vote.

The vote clears the way for Commanders owners to build by 2030 a 65,000-seat stadium at the now-abandoned, 180-acre site. However, the measure still awaits the signature of Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has supported the project. 

The renovation will in fact be a multi-use project that when complete will include parks, youth sports facilities and mixed-use development, according to the local newspaper the Hill Rag. 

The team will invest $2.7 billion and the District is contributing about $1 billion in direct support as well as in rent and tax breaks.

Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders and the most recent NFL stadium to be built, cost a reported $2.33 billion. Assuming RFK’s renovation stays close to its projected cost, Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium will remain the most expensive NFL stadium at a whopping $6.75 billion.