The reported public subsidies for the proposed $3 billion Washington Commanders venue in D.C. appear to be similar to a couple of other big-ticket NFL stadium projects.
The framework of a deal to develop a mixed-used area built on the site of the team’s one-time home, RFK Stadium, has been reported by multiple outlets. Commanders’ owner Josh Harris would pay for up to $2.5 billion of the construction costs while the District would front $850 million, with the public money going towards “eligible capital costs” such as parking and other infrastructure across the allotted 180 acres.
That amount of taxpayer funding is identical to that devoted to the Buffalo Bills stadium, and falls short of what government is dishing out for a new Tennessee Titans‘ home.
The public money would be dispersed in two stages, with the first $500 million during construction between 2026 and 2030, when the team has targeted to open the stadium. The remaining $350 million would come in 2032 through taxes generated by the new stadium district.
That doesn’t match the government money going to the Titans, who are building the a $2.1 billion domed facility using $1.26 billion in taxpayer subsidies. The Titans committed $840 million, the state signed on to fund $500 million, and the city of Nashville approved $760 million in revenue bonds. Nashville’s portion is set to be repaid by revenue from personal seat licenses and an additional 1% hotel tax.
Public outlays in the Titans’ project account for 60% of its construction costs, while the proposed subsidy for the Commanders’ new home currently sits at just over 25% of the total funds.
The $850 million taxpayer tab for the future Commanders stadium is identical to the new Highmark Stadium being built for the Buffalo Bills. In March 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo native, brokered a deal to finance the venue with $600 million from the state and $250 million from Erie County, where the team plays. The original estimate for the stadium’s total cost was $1.4 billion, which has since grown to $2.2 billion. The team is on the hook for all cost overruns beyond $1.4 billion.
The taxpayer funds for this crop of facilities constitute more than the amounts going to other recent NFL stadium projects, but not by much. The Las Vegas Raiders built the $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium with the help of $750 million in taxpayer dollars from Clark County municipal bonds and a hotel tax in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta utilized up to $700 million in public dollars, according to multiple reports, thanks to a clause in the agreement between the Falcons, state and local officials where the hotel tax revenues were added to the city’s initial $200 million commitment.
Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, the world’s most expensive stadium at an estimated $5.5 billion, did not use taxpayer money for the building itself. The home of the NFL’s Chargers and Rams was privately financed, with significant help from the NFL’s G-4 stadium lending program; the league waived its debt limits to allow the Rams to take out at least $2 billion in loans. (The Bills received a similar waiver from the league in March.)
Discussion of the deal comes as Washington, D.C., is bracing for upwards of $410 million in budget cuts imposed by Congress, which, along with the city council, approves the capital’s budget. The Commanders deal would also come after another costly stadium project in the city, the redevelopment of Capital One Arena that is now underway.
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