Thanks to Donald Trump, Virginia is back in play to host the stadium for the Washington Commanders.
WFIR News reports:
An exclusive negotiation window between the team and Washington, D.C., for a new stadium at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium site expired July 15 without a city council vote. WUSA9 reports the delay has reopened the door for both Virginia and Maryland to re-engage with the NFL franchise.
The D.C. Council has scheduled public hearings on the project for July 29 and 30, but the project now faces a significant obstacle from the White House.
In a post on his Truth Social website, President Trump made his administration’s approval of a deal for the federally-controlled RFK site conditional on a name change.
“They must change the name back to the original Washington Redskins,” Trump wrote, “or I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social:
“My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way. I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original “Washington Redskins,” and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, “Washington Commanders,” I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone. Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians. The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”
As president, Trump has the executive authority to block any lease or sale of the federal land required for the project.
The Commanders organization adopted its current name in 2022 after years of controversy over a name considered offensive by Native American groups and has stated it has no plans to revisit the change.