"Per the agreement, the District will provide more than a billion dollars in direct funding for construction and infrastructure, a figure to rival the insane and since-rejected deal proposed by the McCaskey family for downtown Chicago. As the District of Columbia-the nation's 22nd largest city by population and 86th-ranked county or equivalent by median household income-absolutely does not have one billion dollars sitting in a large pile someplace, this cash will be raised via debt financing."
"But that hideous outlay only scratches the surface of the public commitment to this stadium project. The deal exempts the Commanders from property taxes on the stadium and the surrounding development; it exempts the Commanders from sales taxes on personal seat licenses; it gives the Commanders the exclusive right to develop housing and retail around the stadium, at the low price of $1 per year; and it gives the Commanders rent-free use of 24 acres of city-controlled land for a period of 26 years."
The Washington Commanders and Washington D.C. agreed to build a 65,000-seat stadium in Ward 7 on the RFK site, with council approval by an 11-2 vote and planned groundbreaking in 2026 for completion before the 2030 NFL season. The District will provide more than $1 billion in direct construction and infrastructure funding, to be raised through debt financing. The agreement grants the Commanders property-tax and sales-tax exemptions, exclusive development rights for $1 per year, and rent-free use of 24 acres for 26 years. The city CFO found the tax exemptions unnecessary and valued them at about $1.5 billion, signaling a large public subsidy and long-term public commitment.
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