News & Politics

How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?

A side-by-side look.

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A rendering of what the new facility could look like Rendering courtesy of Washington Commanders.

RFK Stadium

Future Stadium
Cost: In 1961, when District of Columbia Stadium (as it was then known) opened, it had cost $24 million to build. That’s something like $255 million in today’s dollars. Cost: The anticipated price is roughly $3.6 billion. DC would be on the hook for about $1 billion of that.
Timeline: It took 14 months from groundbreaking to opening. Timeline: The new one will take about four years, including the planned mixed-use buildings around it.
Capacity: For much of RFK’s history, the maximum number of tickets sold for a football game was about 55,000. Capacity: Expect around 65,000 seats. That’s more than in the team’s current home, Northwest Stadium, but fewer than in most NFL facilities, some of which seat north of 80,000.
Presidential Involvement: President John F. Kennedy attended the first event at the stadium, when the Giants defeated the DC football team. He also forced the team’s owner, George Preston Marshall, to integrate the squad. (The stadium was on federal land.) Presidential Involvement: After the deal was announced, President Trump said the National Mall would host the 2027 NFL draft in honor of the Commanders’ return. The stadium would likely open in 2030, so barring unforeseen events, Trump–whose term expires in 2029–would not attend.
Surroundings: The stadium was accompanied by a vast, tailgate-friendly field of 12,500 parking spaces. Surroundings: The plan is to include a broader development with a recreation complex, restaurants, retail, hotels, and thousands of new housing units. Garages will hold 8,000 parking spots.
Excited Sound Bites: It was dedicated in 1961 by Arkansas representative Oren Harris as “a long, long dream come true,” and “a symbol that a country can be as great as it is strong and healthy.” Excited Sound Bites: It was celebrated by Mayor Muriel Bowser as “a big deal.” “I’ve been working on this for the ten years since I’ve been mayor,” she said at the press conference.
Related
Goodbye, RFK Stadium

This article appears in the June 2025 issue of Washingtonian.

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Ike Allen
Ike Allen
Assistant Editor

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