On April 2, the Project Management Office presented preliminary site and building plans for the new stadium proposed to anchor the RFK Campus to the National Capital Planning Commission. The Commissioners approved the preliminary plan.
Stadium Preliminary Site and Building Plan Presentation and Commission Deliberation
Per the Commission's website, "Plans call for a new roofed stadium for the Washington Commanders on the site of the old Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. The stadium’s design, inspired by architecture in Washington’s monumental core, seeks to balance innovative stadium design with respect to its location by maintaining the East Capitol Street viewshed towards the U.S. Capitol and referencing the original stadium’s form. The entire campus master plan will include five districts, but the Commission’s current review is focused on the approximately 30-acre Stadium District.
"Commissioners appreciated that the column spacing and design was further refined, as was that of the site design which includes the festival plaza, west entry, and east plaza. They encouraged the applicant to continue refining the north and south entries which open to the surrounding neighborhoods, and requested additional information regarding lighting and exterior graphics, design details for permanent kiosks and pavilions, as well as for perimeter security elements.
"The review of two planned parking decks will take place at a future NCPC meeting, although Commissioners expressed concern that they were not included in the original submission. In anticipation of future reviews, the Commission requested the applicant evaluate alternative orientations for the G1 and G2 garages to reduce visual impacts of views to the stadium and from adjacent neighborhoods; lower the garages’ heights, particularly for the G2 garage near the Kingman Park neighborhood; and provide details about phasing of upper garage floors as surrounding surface lots are developed, as well as plans for active uses for the garages’ ground floors."
When: Thursday, April 2, 2026
What: NCPC Approves Preliminary Stadium Designs
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