The Washington Commanders are getting their new stadium on the site of their legendary old home, RFK Stadium, but if U.S. President Donald Trump gets his way, the future venue will known by a different name.
President Trump wants the new stadium to have his name, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Don Van Natta Jr. They reported on Saturday, November 8 how “A senior White House source said there have been backchannel communications with a member of the Commanders ownership group, led by Josh Harris, to express Trump’s desire to have the domed stadium in the nation’s capital bear his name.”
Apparent confirmation soon followed when White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt contacted ESPN via e-mail on Friday. Leavitt said, “It’s what the president wants, and it will probably happen.”
Those words make this sound more like a demand than a request, although a “team source said that while the Commanders anticipate possible conversations with Trump about the new stadium during the game, there have been no formal conversations to date.”
Yet, Schefter and Van Natta Jr. went on to explain why Trump might not get his way. This also isn’t the first time Trump has made a demand about the next place the Burgundy and Gold will call home.
What the speculation about the naming rights of the stadium will do is increase exposure for Trump’s visit to the Commanders’ current home, Northwest Stadium, for Week 10’s game against the Detroit Lions, when the president will sit alongside team owner Josh Harris.
Donald Trump’s Chances of Getting Name on Commanders’ Stadium Uncertain
While the franchise has ownership of the rights to name the stadium, located in Washington, D.C., not Maryland, where Northwest Stadium is situated, there are other entities who have influence over the process.
Among them, “the District of Columbia Council, which will lease the stadium to the Commanders, and the National Park Service, which manages the federal government land on the old RFK Stadium site where the new stadium will be built,” according to Schefter and Van Natta Jr.
The ESPN report also quoted a team source confirming, the Commanders don’t “have the authority. They can’t name the stadium … on their own,” the source said. “The city would be involved in that decision, and the Park Service would be involved.”
That would appear to take the naming proposal out of Trump’s hands, but an anonymous source familiar with the mechanics of the new stadium deal believes the president can still force the issue.
As the source said, Trump “has cards to play. He can make it very difficult, through government environmental approvals and other things, to make sure everyone who wants this stadium to be built will join to put his name on it. Trump has plenty of cards to play to get his way.”
Those words strike an ominous note for anyone who wouldn’t be comfortable with the president’s name adorning the Commanders’ next home. Trump has previously attempted to influence the direction the Commanders are taking with their new stadium.
Schefter and Van Natta Jr. referenced that back “In July, Trump said he would block the construction of the stadium if Harris did not change the team name from Commanders to its old name the Redskins, which is considered offensive to some Native American groups.”
Trump’s influence could grow, but Harris will remain primarily concerned with putting a winning, marketable team into the new home.
Josh Harris, Commanders Need Winning Reset Before New Stadium Opens
Harris won’t be happy to have seen the Commanders take a step back this season. The last campaign yielded an instant rebuild and a place in the NFC Championship Game, but this year’s Commanders find themselves languishing at 3-6.
Injuries have been a major issue, but star quarterback Jayden Daniels received great news about his recovery from the dislocated elbow he suffered against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9. The availability of last season’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is crucial for the Commanders’ future prospects.
Trump is already a fan of Daniels, telling Harris back in May how his team has “a very good quarterback. Great quarterback I think,” per 7News DC’s Scott Abraham. Those comments were made when Trump announced the 2027 NFL draft is going to take place at the National Mall in the nation’s capital.
The announcement also featured Harris dubbing Trump the “ultimate Commander,” per Townhall.com. Whether that public endorsement eventually leads to naming the stadium after Trump, a gesture he wants as a tribute for helping make the deal happen, according to Schefter and Van Natta Jr., remains unclear, but it’s sure to be a lengthy and complex process.
Ultimately, the Commanders must first establish the winning habit to help fill their stadium. Building a stronger team behind star player Daniels is the only way to make that happen.
Donald Trump Makes Demand About Commanders New Stadium: Report