Historic abandoned stadium and home of Super Bowl-winning team set to be demolished and replaced by $3 billion venue
A HISTORIC NFL stadium is set to be demolished to make way for a brand new venue.
The Washington Commanders are nearing a deal to demolish RFK Stadium to build a new stadium on its site.
A deal hasn't been reached yet between the team and the District of Columbia, but the Commanders have a $3 billion plan for the project.
The Commanders would put up $2.5 billion in the deal while DC would need to raise $850 million.
The Commanders played in RFK Stadium from 1961 to 1996, before they moved to Northwest Stadium.
They are looking to return to that site, with the new owners in Josh Harris and Co becoming more aggressive in their pursuit of a new stadium site.
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Washington has been seeking a new stadium for years as their current home, Northwest Stadium continues to deteriorate.
When the stadium first opened, it had the largest capacity in the NFL at 91,000.
However, it has since shrunk to 62,000.
The stadium opened as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, but was renamed to FedEx Field, which stayed the name from 1999 to 2024.
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Northwest Federal Credit Union bought the naming rights after FedEx relinquished its sponsorship in 2024.
The stadium has reached such a state of disrepair that the Commanders are looking to move into a new stadium by the 2030 season.
Washington has look at sites in DC, Virginia, and Maryland as they consider a new stadium.
However, the site of RFK Stadium is believed to be the preferred location.
The biggest roadblock in the deal was the fact that the 170 acres of land that RFK Stadium sits on was federally owned.
Harris and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied lawmakers in DC to pass legislation to transfer that land from the federal government to DC.
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That legislation barely snuck through Congress and was signed into law by former President Joe Biden in January.
The next roadblock will be public funding.
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While Harris' ownership group is pulling together $2.5 billion, taxpayers will need to provide over $800 million.
Activists in DC have already launched efforts to keep the stadium plans from going forward.