- Building on the NFL Washington Commanders’ new stadium is to start in 2026
- A on line casino resort has been proposed adjoining to the RFK campus
- Casinos would want an act of Congress to come back to Washington, DC
The brand new Washington Commanders stadium in Washington, DC, correct, set to start building late subsequent yr, may embrace a on line casino resort ought to one actual property developer get their method.
Demolition of RFK Stadium is seen with the US Capitol and Washington Monument within the background on Oct. 21, 2025. The multibillion-dollar future dwelling of the NFL Washington Commanders is also the positioning of a on line casino resort. (Picture: Getty)
In April, the town and the Commanders’ possession group, led by billionaire Josh Harris, introduced a partnership to redevelop the RFK Stadium grounds, which fell right into a state of disrepair after sitting unoccupied since 2019. The $3.7 billion project is to incorporate 65K seats below a translucent roof, permitting for local weather management and daylight.
The stadium and its two parking garages are anticipated to account for simply 11% of the 180 acres of land on the banks of the Anacostia River within the metropolis’s Hill East neighborhood.
Talks proceed about what residents wish to see subsequent to the NFL stadium. Whereas early plans name for housing and inexpensive housing, parks and leisure services, accommodations, eating places, and retail procuring, a brand new proposal features a little little bit of the Las Vegas Strip within the nation’s capital.
DC On line casino
An actual property developer based mostly in Pittsburgh has established an LLC throughout the district known as Chatman Holdings, LLC. The minority and women-led entity has proposed a on line casino resort on Reservation 13, city-owned land immediately south of the RFK campus.
Together with a gaming house, the Chatman bid consists of quite a few eating places and bars, a 1,000-room lodge, 75K sq. ft of conference house, a bowling alley, and a movie show. The scheme moreover options 900K sq. ft of workplace house, 1,400 models of inexpensive housing, and a grocery retailer.
Chatman officers mission the on line casino growth would create 5,000 building jobs and 5,000 everlasting resort positions.
The proposal was met shortly with backlash. Together with issues that Chatman has no expertise constructing or working a on line casino or a resort of such scale, some native leaders stated slot machines and desk video games aren’t what the world wants.
Would the on line casino’s financial mannequin depend upon the patronage of space residents who’ve a median earnings between $40,000 and $50,000? Pulling cash from a low-income group is just not a win to have extra growth and a grocery retailer,” stated Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Chanettia Nelson.
Different advisory commissioners, nonetheless, expressed not less than curiosity within the on line casino idea.
Extra jobs are created with a on line casino,” stated Commissioner Shirley Thomson-Wright. “I heard the mayor talk about playing on a number of events. I believe it should carry weight as soon as we hash out the kinks.”
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has backed a metropolis invoice to authorize poker and blackjack video games. Nonetheless, the Poker and Blackjack Gaming Authorization Act has stalled within the Metropolis Council.
Act of Congress Wanted
DC’s playing choices at present embrace the city-run lottery, in-person and cellular sports activities betting, and small charitable video games of likelihood.
To permit for a on line casino, the Metropolis Council and the mayor would want to log out on laws to authorize casinos throughout the district. From there, the invoice would head to Congress, the place the federal lawmaking physique would have 30 days to approve the measure. If it fails to behave, the statute turns into legislation.
