DC Encourages Small Business Involvement in RFK Stadium Site Redevelopment
In addition to approving the White House Ballroom plans, the commission also signed off on the HKS-designed stadium for the NFL's Washington Commanders, set for the site of what was once RFK Stadium.
More than $33.6 million in contracting opportunities associated with redevelopment of Washington, D.C.’s RFK Stadium site will be available this year to certified small businesses, according to the District of Columbia Dept. of Small and Local Business Development.
A total of $30 million will be directed to road, utility and stormwater relocation projects at the 180-acre site, part of a nearly $4-billion redevelopment program to create a mixed-use development centered around a new domed 65,000-seat stadium for the Washington Commanders National Football League team. Other opportunities include owner representative services, development of a campus energy master plan, battery storage assessment and Sportsplex planning study.
Details about the projects and firm eligibility are available in the recently released FY26 edition of the Green Book, the District’s official Small Business Enterprise Opportunity Guide.
The RFK Stadium redevelopment program is one of the largest public-private investments in the District’s history, and aims to have the HKS-designed stadium in place for the 2030 season. No contractor for the facility has been announced.
Comprised of five districts within the site, the program also calls for housing, parks and recreation, hotels, restaurants, retail and neighborhood amenities on the campus. Nearly a third of the development will be reserved for parks and open space. As part of the agreement between the local government and Commanders’ owners, at least 40% of program spending will be awarded to District-based companies.
In February, the National Capital Planning Commission provided comments on concept plans for the 30-acre Stadium District as part of the required federal advisory review process that will shape the project’s engineering scope, schedule and cost. According to an NCPC statement, the design “is inspired by architecture in Washington’s monumental core, seeks to balance innovative stadium design with respect for the location by maintaining the East Capitol Street viewshed towards the U.S. Capitol, and by referencing the original stadium’s form.”
The statement reported a largely favorable commission response, noting that commissioners "liked how the design celebrates Washington as a monumental city, pays homage to the old stadium and anticipated that it will become a new landmark in the nation’s capital.”
Comprised of five districts within the site, the stadium program also calls for housing, parks and recreation, hotels, restaurants, retail and neighborhood amenities on the campus.
Rendering courtesy of the Washington Commanders
However, the Commissioners also noted that “additional analysis is needed to confirm if the proposed stadium visually reinforces the preeminence of the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument by protecting the visual frame around them,” per comprehensive plan guidelines.
The NCPC made several recommendations and requests for the District’s next submission, including additional information on views of the stadium and lighting approaches “that respect the hierarchy of memorials, monuments and important civic buildings and spaces in the Nation’s Capital,” ensuring that the Capitol and Washington Monument remain the most prominent features in the nighttime skyline.
Commissioners also requested designs for the two parking decks and information about the landscape and planting plans, kiosk and pavilion designs, planned multi-modal transportation projects and perimeter security approach. Another recommendation calls on the District to coordinate with the adjacent DC National Guard Armory, and the National Park Service regarding connections and transitions to the broader Anacostia Park System.
No schedule for the District’s responses and other submissions to the NCPC has been announced.
