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Hours after the Washington Commanders announced an agreement had been reached with D.C. on a plan to relocate the team to the old RFK Stadium site, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the state made a “good faith” and “very strong” offer to keep the team at Northwest Stadium in Landover.
Speaking at an unrelated event in Riverdale on Monday afternoon, Moore said that during negotiations, he was 鈥渧ery clear鈥� he felt Maryland was the best place for the NFL team to play.
The Commanders have a lease at Northwest Stadium through 2027 and team owner Josh Harris has said he wants a new facility to be ready by 2030.
During a news conference earlier Monday, Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled plans for a nearly $4 billion deal to build a new stadium and entertainment district. When the Commanders鈥� new ownership group, led by Harris, purchased the team from former owner Dan Snyder, it expressed a desire to have the team eventually return to D.C.
鈥淲e made what I think is not just a good faith, but a very strong offer for them,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淏ut they were just very clear that they wanted the Washington Commanders in Washington, D.C. And I get it. You had an ownership group that paid a lot of money for that team, and I understand that.鈥�
From the beginning, Moore said the franchise made it known that they, 鈥渨anted to return the team to its spiritual home of Washington, D.C.鈥�
In December, Moore and Harris signed a memorandum of understanding, which said the Commanders would be responsible for tearing down Northwest Stadium and redeveloping the area if the team opted to relocate.
Moore said he has 鈥渧ery real confidence that they are going to hold to their word and they鈥檙e going to do what they promised to the people of the state of Maryland.鈥�
During talks with the new ownership group, Moore said he expressed his desire that the owners “were not just going to leave Maryland with a ‘RFK Stadium’, with an empty stadium that people are just looking around saying, 鈥榃ho鈥檚 going to pay for it?鈥欌��
The team鈥檚 decision to relocate is the second seemingly-major economic blow to Maryland in the last few months.
The General Services Administration selected Greenbelt as the location for the next FBI headquarters in 2023. But last month, President Donald Trump said he would halt those plans, because he wants to keep the agency in D.C.
When asked specifically about the possible consequences of those two things, Moore said most Marylanders aren鈥檛 thinking about the team鈥檚 return to Washington. Instead, he said, they鈥檙e focusing on what can be done to make the Landover neighborhood where Northwest Stadium sits better.
鈥淭he commitment that I have is what we are seeing now, what we鈥檙e going to see in the future, it will be better,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a commitment that we鈥檙e making to the people of Prince George鈥檚 County. They can be actually very optimistic about what the future of the land is going to look like.鈥�
Prince George鈥檚 Co. residents react to the DC deal
The Washington Commanders have called Prince George鈥檚 County, and Landover specifically, home for nearly 30 years since the team moved out of D.C.’s RFK Stadium.
Many county residents said they understand the team鈥檚 desire to move back to D.C. where the team had its greatest success, winning three Super Bowls. But some of that hope is conditional on the notion that the redevelopment of the current Landover stadium site will be thoughtful, complete and relatively fast.
Musician Frank Marshall and his friend Saint John live near Northwest Stadium. Both are longtime fans and said they鈥檙e pleased the Commanders want to move back to D.C. They said they understand the ownership group, led by Josh Harris, has a desire to be more closely identified with the city they鈥檙e named after.
鈥淓ven though I moved to Maryland, the nostalgia for it being at RFK reminds me of when me and my dad went to games as a kid,鈥� Marshall said.
He said he’s a longtime ticket holder and has attended hundreds of games at both stadiums.
John is also a longtime fan, but said the Commanders have never been able to recreate the stadium-shaking days at RFK Stadium.
鈥淚 just think D.C. has the ‘it factor,’鈥� John said. 鈥淚t always had that ‘it factor’ when it came to sports teams. Maryland, it didn鈥檛 click well.鈥�
Now, the question many Prince George’s County residents are asking is: What comes next at Northwest Stadium, if the D.C. Council approves the new stadium proposal and the Commanders move back to the city?
They鈥檝e seen what happened at RFK Stadium 鈥� as the former home of the Washington Senators, later the Nationals, and DC United, along with the football team 鈥� which has been unused and in a state of disrepair for several years, before demolition process began.
John and Marshall said Prince George鈥檚 County has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to significantly improve Landover.
鈥淚 would like to see it be a major investment for the community. But this right here was not it,鈥� John said, referring to Northwest Stadium. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 right for the community.鈥�
Marshall, known professionally as Frank “Scooby” Sirius with the renowned Chuck Brown Band, lives about a mile from Northwest Stadium and has performed there. He sees better days ahead.
鈥淗opefully, they’ll turn it into an events space-living space-retail,鈥� he said.
About a mile away from the stadium, longtime Prince George鈥檚 County resident Joy Brown knows what she doesn鈥檛 want at the site if it鈥檚 redeveloped.
鈥淎 lot of shopping centers do not survive when they build them here. So, no, I do not want to see that,鈥� Brown said, indicating she鈥檇 prefer a mix of more affordable and high-end housing.
Resident Nick Rodriguez said whatever happens with the team, he doesn鈥檛 want his neighborhood to be home to an empty stadium falling into disrepair.
鈥淚 hope it doesn鈥檛 become like what happened at RFK, when it鈥檚 just a shell. That wouldn鈥檛 be nice for the neighborhood,鈥� he said.
Gov. Moore, county officials and the Commanders, who own the Northwest Stadium property, insist that it will not happen.
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