RFK Stadium Deal: DC Council vote could have to wait until fall

The Washington Commanders return to DC may have to wait

While DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has given D.C. Council until July 15 to vote on a deal to bring the Commanders to RFK Stadium, D.C. Council chair Mendelson says the council needs time to review pending reports before voting.

WASHINGTON - D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said on Monday that he would not call D.C. Council to a vote during their August recess – meaning a vote on the RFK Stadium deal could be delayed until mid-September at the earliest. 

Last week, D.C. Council announced the Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025, in an effort to separate the RFK Stadium deal from the District's 2026 budget – and to give the council more time to assess and for the public to weigh in. 

What's next:

Mayor Muriel Bowser urged the Council to pass the stadium deal by July 15 – or the deeal couled be lost. 

But Mendelson told FOX 5 Monday that after the Budget Support Act is passed in July, he has no plans to call back the council in August during recess to take a vote on the RFK Stadium bill. 

"It would be incredibly extraordinary to call the council back in August. I can’t think of one time in 50 years of Home Rule that we have called the council back," said Mendelson. 

The D.C. Council returns from recess in September – meaning there may not be a vote until the fall. 

"We are working well with the Commanders and as diligently as possible to try and get to a point where the council can vote as quickly as possible," said Mendelson. 

Mendelson says they are waiting on three reports expected in July, focused on the economic impact, tax abatement financial analysis and the consultant's report. Until the council receives those reports, they're not in a positioin to take up a stadium deal vote, per Mendelson. 

The backstory:

The RFK Stadium site is located in Northeast D.C. and consists of approximately 180 acres of waterfront property. Winning control of the land was a hard-fought battle waged by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. 

D.C. leaders, under Bowser, worked for years to get control of the RFK Stadium site. It was previously controlled by the federal government. 

Earlier this year, former President Joe Biden finally signed the legislation that gave D.C. control of the land for 99 years—part of a massive spending bill passed by Congress back in December 2024.

It enabled the District to put forth an offer and work to make a deal with the Commanders to entice them to come back to the District. The NFL and Commanders lobbied for this legislation, as did Bowser, who made it clear that she wanted to see the team return to D.C. 

D.C. and the Commanders reached a multi-billion-dollar deal to bring the team to the District by 2030. The Commanders will invest $2.7 billion in the project, while the city will contribute over $1 billion. Mayor Bowser projects the development will generate $4 billion in tax revenue.

The stadium will occupy 20 acres of the old RFK site, with 160 adjacent acres devoted to housing, a recreation center, and a business and entertainment district. The stadium plan includes a covered stadium with a 65,000-seat capacity. 

Groundbreaking is anticipated next year, pending approval from the D.C. Council but some believe separating the RFK legislation from the D.C. budget could cause significant delays in this timeline.