Opinion: Bring the Commanders Home
By • May 14, 2025 0 231
Sports are galvanizing our city’s spirit in this moment. You can feel it all across the District: from the crack of the bat when the Nationals hit their first home run of the season, to the roar of fans in Capital One Arena celebrating Alex Ovechkin’s world record, to the electricity at Audi Field celebrating Spirit and DC United victories, to the spark in the eyes of our kids looking up to their favorite sports heroes.
It’s time we bring the Commanders home to build on this energy and source of pride for our city.
Sports are good for entertainment and economic development, but they are about much more, giving us a sense of hope and belonging. At a time when our city is facing significant hardship from the whiplash speed with which the federal government is cutting jobs, undermining our local funding and creating fear in some of our communities, sports give all of us something to root for, something to believe in. They are bringing our city together in ways that are palpable and important.
I am thrilled the mayor and the Commanders have reached a deal that lays out a strong framework to bring our football team back to D.C. and includes many of elements we have been advocating for on behalf of the community. We cannot pass up this once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the RFK campus that has sat vacant for three decades.
The proposed deal includes a commitment for more than 200 stadium activation days a year for games, concerts and other events; retail, hotel and recreation space for families; and over 6,000 new housing units — one-third of which will be affordable. This development will not only benefit Ward 7 and the surrounding neighborhoods, but also help solidify the District as a competitive destination for residents, businesses and visitors in our region and across the country and globe. There will be no other football stadium in the country where you can cheer on your team as you overlook the water and our national monuments. This stadium will reflect our American ideals of freedom and community.
Sitting in my office for the last several years are two orange seats from the former RFK stadium. These seats are a reminder to me and to everyone who visits of the pride the city had and still has in our football team, as well as the important legacy of American hero Robert F. Kennedy: to use our opportunities to lift one another up and inspire the next generation of Americans to believe that we can — and we will — build a more just society.
The Council is now reviewing every detail of the deal, ensuring that we secure the best deal possible for District of Columbia residents and leverage the largest private investment in D.C. history. Let’s fill the seats at RFK again. Let’s get this deal done and strive toward a D.C. where every person is welcome, has opportunity and can proudly believe in the future of our city.
Brooke Pinto, a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, has represented Ward 2 — including Georgetown — since 2020.
