Washington Commanders Stadium — RFK Campus, Washington, D.C.

The Washington Commanders are building a roughly $3.8 billion enclosed stadium on the 180-acre former RFK Stadium campus in Washington, D.C., returning the franchise to the District it left in 1997. Enabling work started in June 2026. Stadium construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 with completion targeted for spring 2030.

Project Scope

The venue runs about 1.8 million sq ft with roughly 65,000 seats under a fixed roof and a climate-controlled interior. A joint venture of Clark Construction Group, Mortenson and Smoot Construction Company of Washington, D.C. is building it. HKS was appointed lead architect in November 2025.

The stadium anchors a wider campus intended to host more than 200 events a year, including concerts, festivals and national events alongside the NFL schedule. The site plan aligns with the L’Enfant Plan and extends the existing Anacostia waterfront park and recreation network.

The agreement between the District and the franchise commits 40% of project spending to D.C. companies. A contractor outreach event in Southeast D.C. on Sept. 9, 2026 drew roughly 1,000 registrations from local, small and Certified Business Enterprise firms working through prequalification.

Why It Matters

The Clark, Mortenson and SmootDC team has delivered Nationals Park and Capital One Arena locally, and Allegiant Stadium and U.S. Bank Stadium in the NFL. That combination of national stadium experience and D.C. presence is what the franchise cited in the selection, and Smoot’s position inside the joint venture rather than below it is the structural piece of the local participation commitment.

For the District, the project converts a vacant stadium site that has sat largely unused since RFK closed into a year-round venue and mixed-use campus. For the regional subcontractor market, three and a half years of continuous work on one site is the largest single opportunity in the metro area this decade.

Project Team & Details