On January 6, President Joe Biden signed a bill that transfers control of the land housing the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the city of Washington, marking another step toward the potential return of the Washington Commanders to the nation’s capital.

Honoring more than a year of efforts

The transfer of control of the site to the District of Columbia for 99 years allows for the demolition of the dilapidated RFK Stadium and the transformation of the area for any future purpose. One of the options is the construction of a new soccer stadium along with the surrounding infrastructure. The team’s owners Josh Harris, Mitch Rales, and Mark Ein, as well as Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, joined Biden in the Oval Office for the signing of the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act. In a statement released afterward, the Commanders called the move a major success for the city and its residents.

The resolution passed through Congress on December 21, just before the holiday break, after being removed from the annual budget bill, a setback that threatened the efforts of the last 18 months. Majority owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lobbied for the bill on Capitol Hill earlier in December.

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