You don’t have to be a fan of football — or the idea of building a new stadium with taxpayer support — to admit it: The renderings released by the Washington Commanders of their new 70,000-seat stadium are pretty stunning.
Initial designs from architects at HKS (who also designed the modern SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles and the sharply-angled U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis) evoke both the classical grandeur of D.C.’s monuments while paying homage to the bowl shape of its predecessor. And did we mention that translucent undulating roof?
It’s not just my personal opinion. The renderings drew praise upon their release last week, in a city that was fairly divided over the use of more than $1 billion in public funds for the $3.8 billion project.
“I’m surprised, but they’ve done a good job here. A classically inspired design that integrates nicely into one of the capital’s major sight lines,” was one characteristic response. “With apologies to my NIMBY neighbors on Capitol Hill, this looks amazing,” was another. (An Axios D.C. poll of its readers found that 75% of respondents like the proposed design.)
The design may change in the years to come, especially as the stadium moves through the federal review process, where appointees of President Trump can weigh in. But initial plans submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission reveal more about how the stadium and surrounding development will look as the doors open in 2030, and beyond.
Classical trumps modern
One of the main federal reviews is with the National Capital Planning Commission, which largely oversees construction projects on federal land. (Recall that the RFK site is owned by the federal government and leased to D.C.) Trump controls a number of appointments to NCPC, and he installed White House staff secretary Will Scharf as chairman last summer.
Scharf told the Commanders during a meeting late last year that he hoped the new stadium would incorporate "architectural features in keeping with the capital more generally — classical, neoclassical elements,” the Washington Business Journal reported.
"Going back to classical antiquity, arenas and stadiums have played a vital role in the urban cityscape," Scharf said to the team.
Well, the Commanders seem to have listened. Documents submitted ahead of their presentation to the NCPC (which is scheduled for February) refers to the new stadium as an “uplifting civic landmark” that is inspired by the city’s history and design.
“The stadium occupies a position of exceptional civic significance,” the team wrote — directly connected “to some of our nation’s most revered public spaces while extending the reach of the monumental core toward the river.”
The presentation also makes clear that the architecture draws inspiration from D.C.’s classical monuments and memorials, with a colonnade around the perimeter and grand staircases on the east- and west-facing entrances, similar to the Lincoln Memorial or U.S. Capitol.
One of the knocks on the old RFK stadium was that the campus remained inactive and uninspiring outside of game days, largely due to the acres of surrounding surface parking.
When the stadium first opens, that won’t really change. Some of the existing surface parking lots will stay in place, supplementing two permanent decks (which will have a total of 8,000 parking spots), per the team’s plans submitted to NCPC.
Those lots are supposed to be temporary, eventually replaced by the retail and residential development that was a selling point for the stadium deal, including an estimated 6,000 homes. But the zoning process will reportedly delay those projects beyond the slated 2030 opening. (Per the agreement with D.C., all of the development has to be done within 13 years of final zoning approvals, though the work will be staggered so that certain parts are done sooner after.)
In other words, it looks like the Commanders’ most serious fans will have a few more years to tailgate.
The mass transit to come
Of course, everyone from the team to city officials recognizes that getting 70,000 fans to the stadium requires more than parking.
As part of the stadium deal, the D.C. Council gave $2 million to Metro to consider how to meet increased demand for transit. At a bare minimum, that would involve expanding the Stadium-Armory station to handle more fans, with an extended mezzanine and a possible second entrance.
There’s also been some push for a new station at Oklahoma Avenue NE, but Metro General Manager Randy Clarke told lawmakers last month that the geography is complicated, and any construction would take years to complete. (There’s also currently no funding for it.)
Clarke was animated by another possibility that both city officials say they’re exploring: A bus rapid transit station on Benning Road NE. It would offer direct access to Union Station and the Red Line, something he said was “critical” to moving more fans more quickly.
"We need to be able to get a lot of people on the Red Line and take BRT to the site," Clarke told the council. "That means a dedicated right of way, high-capacity vehicles, high frequency, center-running lanes.”
D.C. is in the very early stages of considering how bus rapid transit could work along the H Street and Benning Road corridor, including how much road reconfiguration and reconstruction would be necessary.
We hit the banks of the Potomac and Anacostia with "Ernie the Hog Snatcher" and a host of other locals, who say fishing brings them peace, community, and fun.
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