Efforts to push a bill allowing the Washington, D.C., government to redevelop the site of the former Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium have stalled in the Senate, but district officials are reportedly seeking to tie it to an essential piece of legislation.
A report from Axios suggested Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration is privately pushing Senate Democrats behind the scenes to add the bill to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. The FAA reauthorization must pass by May 10.
Senators have filed various amendments for the legislation, but whether Senate leadership will want to take up changes has yet to be seen — and some worry adding amendments could jeopardize approval in the House of Representatives. One of the top Senate Republicans, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), has said he expects a short-term extension may be necessary before the deadline.
The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed in the House, 348-55, in February, after being introduced by Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) in 2023.
The bill would move control of the land in the district from the secretary of the Interior Department to the administrator of the General Services Administration. Under control of the General Services Administration, the bill stipulates the administrator must enter a lease with the district government to allow it to redevelop the land into whatever it wants, including a new stadium, commercial and residential developments, or recreational facilities.
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RFK Stadium has sat vacant for five years and was given approval for demolition by the National Park Service on Thursday.
The stadium was the longtime home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins until 1996, and the site has been floated for a new stadium for the team. It also hosted MLB’s Washington Nationals for three seasons while Nationals Park was built in the Navy Yard neighborhood.
