Washington D.C. and their NFL team, the Commanders, have reached a $3.7 billion deal at the RFK site, home to a temporarily closed stadium. This new deal would bring the Washington Commanders back into the city of D.C.

2.7 billion of the cost would be covered by the Commanders. The other one billion would be covered by D.C. taxpayer dollars. This is likely to become a hot button issue for D.C. civilians, which could cause issues in the approval still required by the D.C. council.

“I don’t like how much money it’s costing,” sophomore Peyton Hill said. “That’s a lot of money for that small of a stadium. The Giants’ stadium was like 1.5 billion. That’s only a third of what the Commander’s stadium is going to cost.”

Although the Commanders and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) are still waiting on council approval, they’re looking to start on the project quickly. They’d like to start construction as soon as next year to have the stadium open for the 2030 season.

Under this deal, thousands of new housing units will be built, along with recreational facilities — such as a huge SportsPlex — new landscaping, retail and restaurants.

The new stadium would have 65,000 seats. In the context of NFL stadiums, this is slightly lower than average. It will be a retractable dome stadium. 

“I like that they’re talking about the stadium dome being retractable, because of the weather,” Hill said. 

Mayor Bowser has told the council that they need to vote by Jul. 15. The council will likely clash over the high price of the deal, especially with the burden placed on local taxpayers. It’s not looking too good for Bowser and the Commanders. The Council Chair has said the deal would not pass if voted on today, and they likely don’t have enough time to come to a decision by July.