PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — We know where Virginia stands as far as the fight to land the Commanders' stadium - plans for three locations and an extensive "Commanders' city"-style were uncovered last week by WUSA9.
And D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has been vocal about her desire to see new life breathed into the old RFK Stadium site in Northeast.
But where does that leave the state in which Washington's football team currently plays?
Another potential location of a brand-new Washington Commanders Stadium has emerged. This one in Landover, Maryland.
When WUSA9 asked Prince George’s County Delegate Jazz Lewis, “Is a brand-new Washington Commanders Stadium in Prince George's County in talks and on the table?” Lewis answered simply, “Yes.”
Lewis tells WUSA9 talks with the Washington Commanders about a new stadium in Prince George’s County date back roughly two years and includes far more aggressive plans than just a face-lift for aging FedEx Field. Lewis said the discussions have focused on building FedEx Field’s replacement on undeveloped land adjacent to the current site in Landover, in a design plan that does not interfere with existing residents.
For years, fans have criticized FedEx Field’s lack of access to public transportation. The stadium is roughly a mile from the nearest Metro stop, the blue line’s Morgan Boulevard Metro Station, and fans who do use the metro to get to FedEx have to make the half-hour walk to the stadium along narrow sidewalks and busy roads.
Lewis said the new stadium site in Landover would change that, building it much closer to the Morgan Boulevard Metro Station, and much more accessible to fans on game day.
“There are conversations about seeing if the stadium could be brought closer to essentially just south of the station,” Lewis said, “which would allow you to come up much like the Washington Nationals and be right there.”
“Everything is just in conversation at this point,” Lewis said, adding the land the stadium would be built on is currently commercially owned.
“But it is possible,” Lewis said.
"We have a lot of folks who live in the shadow of the stadium and their property values would plummet if they left the county," Lewis said of the Commanders’ potential move to another state. "We in the state are prepared to do all we can to make sure they stay, not just because it's important to keep them but (because) that community that surrounds them needs more investment.”
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said the new stadium would be part of the county’s transformative “Blue Line Corridor” redevelopment, referring to that blue line Metrorail that runs right through the heart of the county and includes the Morgan Boulevard station.
“The vision is to create sports and entertainment, a destination to bring amenities,” Alsobrooks said. “That's restaurants, that’s shopping opportunities to our residents, and we are developing out that vision from Morgan Boulevard all the way to Capitol Heights Metro.”
“And we're doing that no matter what,” Alsobrooks said. “And we really hope that the Commanders will be a part of the transformative changes that we're seeing in along that corridor.”
A team representative confirmed to WUSA9 “the team’s broad alignment with the Prince George’s County Blue Line Corridor vision.”
Washington Commanders President Jason Wright hit on similar themes in a recent appearance at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.
“Whether it’s D.C., Maryland or Virginia, understanding what leaders in those areas have planned for their constituents from an economic and social perspective, and crafting a vision that gets in line with that,” Wright said of the team’s new stadium vision on Feb. 3.
Maryland’s plan to pay for a new stadium is coming into focus too.
The plan in Northern Virginia would include a $1 billion bond package to help owner Daniel Snyder finance his new stadium complex in one of three potential sites first reported by WUSA9: Sterling, Woodbridge or Dumfries.
In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration has already proposed spending $1.2 billion through the stadium authority to upgrade Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. And sources tell WUSA9 Hogan’s office is now working to expand that plan to include a new Commanders stadium, financed in part through hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds sold through the Maryland Stadium Authority.
Maryland has already reserved one of its 30 retail sports betting licenses for the Commanders, in the likely event the team would want to include a sportsbook in its new stadium complex. Meanwhile, Prince George’s County has set aside $16 million for a new amphitheater – which is part of the Commanders’ blueprints for a Northern Virginia stadium complex - obtained first by WUSA9.
One key difference between Maryland’s plan and Virginia’s? If Maryland builds a new Commanders stadium, Lewis said Dan Snyder would not be the owner. The billionaire would lease the stadium for as long as the Commanders were there.
"I want to reiterate anything the state invests in the state owns,” Lewis said. “So it wouldn't be building any stadium for anyone. It would be building something for the people in Maryland.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Hogan’s office told WUSA9, “Our office is working with the county on a competitive proposal that is fair and responsible to taxpayers. The governor and the Prince George’s County Executive spoke about the matter in early February.”
So, what about D.C. and the old RFK site? Mayor Muriel Bowser said she wants to bring the Commanders stadium back to the District, but no formal plans have been announced.
WHY IS A NEW STADIUM NEEDED?
The lease at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland — where Washington has played football since 1997 — expires after the 2027 season. Prior to their time at FedEx Field, the team played at RFK Stadium for 36 seasons, from 1961 through 1996.
RELATED: Virginia had a Washington football stadium deal in 1992. Then, people in Alexandria sacked it.
WHO ELSE WANTS IT
D.C.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she wants the Commanders to build their new stadium at the site of the old RFK Stadium in Northeast.
“Well, we know when the team was last a winning team and they played at RFK,” Bowser said on Saturday.
Bowser said The District is already equipped with a 100-acre site to build on and one day play.
“We have an ideal location at RFK. Our administration has been focused on getting control of the RFK site from the federal government for a longer period than our lease is now,” she said.
"Every major sports franchise in the region calls D.C. home," the mayor tweeted soon after the team's new name reveal. "The next chapter for the Washington Commanders should be a return to winning right here in DC.”
The mayor said though she opposes the District financing the stadium, she would support what the city did with DC United’s stadium, Audi Field. In that case, the city prepared the land that would be needed, which presumably would mean the city would fund everything that would go around the Commanders' new stadium, including housing, parks and retail.
Bowser indicated D.C. would pay not only for all the new development around the Commanders' stadium, but also getting the land ready, which would mean demolishing the old RFK stadium, something Bowser said is long overdue.
The mayor said she would focus on affordable housing being a part of the project.
“It's important to us that that site have housing first, as we've been talking about housing. Recreation, park space and sports - including an NFL stadium,” Bowser said.
VIRGINIA
WUSA9 obtained documents showing Virginia is bidding for the Commanders to cross yet another border. The plans we obtained call for all three sites to include more than just a 700,000-square-foot, 16-acre stadium, but also outdoor and indoor training facilities and team offices, a 14,000-seat amphitheater, hotels and a conference center, residential buildings and mixed-used retail including nightlife.
The “Washington Football Team Master Plan Workshop” dated “12.22.2021” and broken into three separate plans:
Master Plan Site A, Site B and Site C.
The Dumfries option - Site A - sits about 35 miles from downtown D.C. in Dumfries, in a Prince William County development known as Potomac Shores.
The Woodbridge option - Site B - is about 26 miles from downtown D.C. in Prince William County. The location is right off I-95 in Woodbridge, accessible by Telegraph Road and commercial and residential streets.
The Sterling option - Site C - is roughly 29 miles from downtown D.C. According to that plan, the stadium would be built on the site of Loudoun Quarries in Loudon County.
Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood has expressed his strong support of bringing the stadium to Potomac Shores, a development in progress with new construction going up across from the land on which the stadium would be built. However, Wood noted that traffic and transportation will be the biggest roadblocks in having a stadium complex in the area. Nonetheless, he believes the stadium would benefit his community.
"Our support is rooted in our desire to have the infrastructure for the stadium complex built in and around town to complement the vision of Dumfries as a destination place," Wood wrote in a letter to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.
RELATED: Va. Congressman unveils plan to sack tax perks of state's plan to lure Washington Commanders stadium
During a roundtable at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3, Commanders President Jason Wright would not commit to any stadium site location or to the state of Virginia. But he said the team’s first goal is to be a good community partner.
“Whether it’s D.C., Maryland or Virginia, understanding what leaders in those areas have planned for their constituents from an economic and social perspective, and crafting a vision that gets in line with that” was the goal of the team's stadium talks, Wright said.
WHERE IT WON'T GO
Leesburg. On Feb. 23, Leesburg Town Council voted six to one to send a letter to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors opposing a Washington Commanders stadium and commercial complex in Loudoun County.
“We’re concerned about the traffic that this stadium and the attached development with it will incur in the area,” Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk said. “We’re concerned about the overdevelopment of that particular area, so we’re most certainly concerned about the implications of any sort of development along those lines but we are adamantly opposed to any tax money going to the stadium.”
Vice Mayor Fernando Martinez said he was the sole vote against sending a letter of opposition to the board of supervisors. He told WUSA9 he doesn't believe the town took a good look at the economic advantages a stadium could bring.