Comer Statement on D.C. and Washington Commanders Announcing Deal to Revitalize Vacant D.C. RFK Stadium Campus

WASHINGTON – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) released the following statement after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders of the National Football League announced an agreement today to develop and revitalize the vacant Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium campus in Southeast D.C.

“This new deal will help make D.C. beautiful by revitalizing the vacant and deteriorating RFK Memorial Stadium campus in our nation’s capital. It will unlock the city’s full economic potential, generate meaningful new jobs, and add millions in city revenue. Today’s announcement has been years in the making, and I am proud to have led a bipartisan effort in Congress to empower local D.C. officials to clean up this RFK site, invest, and create new economic opportunities. The House Oversight Committee remains committed to working with District leaders to ensure a capital that is prosperous and beautiful for residents and visitors for generations to come.”

Background:

Despite its long history and importance to D.C. residents, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium campus in Southeast D.C. has been abandoned to become unused parking lots, open fields, and a deteriorating stadium that is being demolished. In July 2023, Chairman James Comer introduced the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act (H.R. 4984), bipartisan legislation that transfers administrative jurisdiction over the RFK stadium site from the Secretary of the Interior to the District of Columbia. The bill ensures federal ownership of the land and allows the District of Columbia to use the land for stadium redevelopment, commercial and residential development, and other public purposes. In addition, the legislation prohibits federal taxpayer funds from being used for any future stadium redevelopment at the site. The Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) analysis of the legislation indicated the bill would have no impact on the federal deficit.  

Chairman Comer’s legislation passed the House of Representatives previously in February 2024, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in November 2024, and the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on December 21, 2024. In January 2025, former President Joe Biden signed into law the D.C. RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act.