D. C. Mayor Wants The NFL Commanders To Return To Washington

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Washington Nationals' Alex Call, left, is out as Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe throws to first base for the double play during the third inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The District is spending $394,000 to figure out if it could fund a Commanders stadium.

Washington, D. C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has decided spending $394,000 to hire two consultants, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., and the Robert Bobb Group, is a worthwhile endeavor in trying to get the National Football League’s Washington Commanders ownership’s attention to get the business back into the plot of land near the United States Capitol. The two consultants will provide some guidance in their final report as to the best way to fund a National Football League stadium in Washington. Bowser in her attempt to lure the business back to the District may be stirring up a hornet’s nest because the Major League Baseball Washington Nationals franchise ownership and the entity that owns the National Basketball Association’s Washington Wizards franchise and the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals franchise may put their collective hands out and ask where’s money for us for our venues?

In June, the Washington Post reported that representatives from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Capitals, Wizards and Washington Mystics, have had preliminary and exploratory talks regarding a possible arena site near Amazon’s new HQ2 development in the National Landing area of Arlington, Virginia. The Post also reported that Monumental Sports & Entertainment was meeting with Bowser and District elected officials about getting city funding to upgrade the Washington venue that houses the NBA and NHL teams. On September 18th, the Nationals organization sent a letter to city officials that outlined a proposal to create a dedicated revenue fund for the Washington baseball stadium to repair and renovate the venue that opened in 2008. Bowser will have competition for the NFL Commanders business. Virginia politicians are trying to put together a proposal that would build a stadium for Commanders’ football games somewhere in northern Virginia. The Commanders business is located in Virginia but the franchise plays its games in Maryland. Maryland wants to keep the business.

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The Washington Commanders (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky