New Commanders stadium would bring thousands of new jobs, billions in revenue: report

A new Commanders stadium at the old RFK Stadium site would bring tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic revenue according to a new review distributed by the District this week Related stories New Commanders president says return to RFK site will bring club back to its spiritual home DC mayor touts benefits of new Commanders stadium but selected residents remain skeptical DC s budget approval timeline expected to delay council s Commanders deal decision The -page overview produced by the firm Conventions Sports Leisure International evaluated the economic impact of a new facility and the next years of a transformed neighborhood About jobs would be created over the life of a stadium which City Administrator Kevin Donahue declared will generate billion in tax revenue use and billion in overall output In the first year the stadium opens the record estimates the facility would help bring over million in tax revenue to the city The findings represent city leaders latest attempt to persuade residents and council members to endorsement the deal D C Mayor Muriel Bowser has hosted a series of town hall meetings to solicit feedback on her vision for the project as the D C Council still has to approve funding for the project Bowser maintains a stadium will anchor a transformed neighborhood is the best and fastest way to develop the old RFK Stadium site Owner Josh Harris disclosed the franchise s desire to relocate back to the city this spring As part of the nearly billion project the pair hopes to have the new stadium ready to open in time for the season The NFL generating interest and activating their venues either for games concerts or otherwise is about as close to a certainty that you have in a business atmosphere Donahue stated WTOP The revenue estimates according to the record are based on the projection that the new stadium will host football games a year or third-party events and private events Those events could include concerts WrestleMania shows and soccer matches or a convention at the city s convention center that has a dinner on the field of a domed stadium at the RFK campus Donahue revealed The record cites the creation of an estimated new housing units selected of which will meet the city s criteria for affordable under D C law But Donahue mentioned construction on the housing portion of the project won t start until after the stadium and restaurants are built The assessment explained will be the time when the mixed-used district will reach full build-out First will come the stadium and the restaurants associated with the stadium that s going to be there for opening day Donahue reported The housing will really break ground shortly after the stadium opens That means construction will be going on in the area after the stadium is operating Donahue disclosed but the pieces of land that include housing each of them is a fair number of acres So you would expect like you d have anywhere in the city there ll be progress happening construction happening after the stadium opens A few experts say stadiums generally don t produce the economic benefits expected of them but Donahue mentioned a scrutiny about Nationals Park and the Navy Yard neighborhood vastly underestimated the amount of revenue and economic activity jobs that Nationals Park and Navy Yard produced and I think this will be the same There will be added benefits because the stadium will have a roof Donahue declared suggesting the estimated revenue and number of projected events is conservative compared to other cities with NFL stadiums The review he announced is part of the city s pitch to residents and council members who may be reluctant to aid the plan We re in a really delicate moment in time for our financial system Donahue noted Our largest employer is shedding jobs possibly tens of thousands of jobs in D C alone And what we have an obligation to do as a city is lean into what else we do well to be able to get jobs back and get revenue back The city has had success from investing in sports he mentioned Petitioned about achievable locality skepticism about the positive findings from a city-funded document Donahue revealed the firm would have no interest at all in doing anything other than their largest part accurate credible prediction because they do this all around the world to predict what the economic impact is going to be To help its financial system D C has to invest in industries such as machinery and sure bets And the NFL from an economic standpoint is as close to a thing as a sure bet as you can get and we have a chance to do it for what I think is literally a really good deal for the D C Donahue explained The full description is available online Source