What's next in the Commanders' process of building a new stadium in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Roger Goodell acknowledged that a new, state-of-the-art Commanders stadium in Washington would drastically increase the chances of the U.S. capital hosting the Super Bowl for the first time.

“We’ve got to get it built first,” the NFL Commissioner said.

Before shovels are even in the ground at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the nearly $4 billion project trumpeted Monday needs majority approval from the Council of the District of Columbia. That is far from a formality or a rubber stamp given the roughly $1.1 billion in proposed investment by the city, though controlling owner Josh Harris is optimistic about its prospects.

"It’s just an incredible project for D.C., and I think that’s why I feel pretty confident it’s going to happen," Harris said. “I think that D.C., the council, will recognize what an incredible opportunity this is, as we did, and hopefully come around. Our job is to be transparent, to give them the information they need and to be supportive.”

Chairman Phil Mendelson on local radio expressed his doubts about there being enough council support for the price tag, and he has in the past said he is not in favor of public money for a stadium. Councilmember Charles Allen put out a news release calling it a “bad deal” for D.C., arguing that the stadium “cannot be an economic engine with only eight home games and a handful of concerts.”

The team and city vision is for not just Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts but 100-plus private events a year, with 1.4 million people going through the gates annually for everything from mixed-martial arts and wrestling cards to March Madness culminating in the Final Four and Premier League soccer and Army-Navy football games taking place in Washington.

To make all that a reality, seven (out of usually 13 but currently 12 with one vacancy) councilmembers need to vote in favor of the plan. Four were in attendance at the news conference, including Wendell Felder, who represents the area the stadium would be in and said it could use an anchor like other parts of the city.

“This deal gives Ward 7 an opportunity to change that,” Felder said. “When there’s opportunities to this magnitude, (it is about) making sure we’re getting in front of as many neighbors as possible across the ward so we hear their concerns, but most importantly we also want to create opportunities, whether those are business opportunities, whether those are employment opportunities for neighbors who will be impacted the most.”

Bowser said no residents will be forced to move because the project is contained entirely on the “RFK campus” land that includes the decaying ruins of the once-legendary stadium. But that does not mean there won't be folks affected by the construction and new flurry of activity.

“The good thing about this site is there was an NFL stadium there,” Bowser said, referring to Washington playing there from 1961-96 before moving to its current home in Landover, Maryland. “What we’ve heard from the community is they’re tired of the blight and they want the 180-acre parcel (of land) to be brought back to life. So, one advantage is that we won’t just have what’s there now: a sea of parking and a stadium. We’re going to be able to have a wonderful mix of uses.”

The plan calls for 5,000-6,000 new homes, at least 30% of which would be affordable housing, along with recreation, restaurants, stores and hotels with nearly a third of the land reserved for parks and open green space.

Harris, who along with co-owners Mitch Rales and Mark Ein grew up as fans of the team, pointed out that the city's contribution for infrastructure would have needed to happen regardless of what went on the site.

“That’s what they’re doing, and so they get all this other stuff,” Harris said. “I believe that this project speaks for itself. I think the (return on investment) to D.C.: the thousands of jobs, the billions of tax revenue, the events — D.C. deserves this.”

The aggressive timeline to get the building opened by 2030 involves council approval this summer so planning can take place in the fall and the groundbreaking happen in the fall or winter of 2026.

Citing recent approval of an $800 million overhaul renovation of downtown Capital One Arena to keep the NHL's Capitals and NBA's Wizards in Washington that is now underway, Kenyan R. McDuffie is unbothered by the need for he and his fellow councilmembers to figure this out quickly.

“We know that we can walk and chew gum in the nation’s capital,” McDuffie said. “I don’t think it takes away from the excitement of fans and people who live here understanding that this such a tremendous opportunity for the nation’s capital. And it’s an opportunity for us to grow our local economy and do it in a way that’s smart that involves people who live here and the small businesses that are based here.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, holds up a signed helmet along with District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after an announcement about a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris attends an announcement about a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, signs a helmet along with District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after an announcement about a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hold up a signed helmet after an announcement about a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, from left, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

CHICAGO (AP) — The town of Newport, Maine, has a population of about 3,200 people. There's a bowling alley, a popular local diner that serves breakfast all day, a hunting club and it costs only $6 to license your dog.

It is a quintessential small New England town. It is not known for developing NBA stars.

Cooper Flagg was undeterred.

Flagg played his lone college year at Duke, finished high school in Florida at Montverde Academy and presumably will soon be moving to Dallas to play for the Mavericks, the team that has the No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft. But he's still just an 18-year-old from Maine, a small-town kid who says “please” and “thank you” and seems completely unphased by being labeled basketball's next big thing.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from," Flagg said Wednesday at the draft combine. “If you have a goal, if you have a dream and you put your mind to it ... I mean, honestly, for me it wasn’t real until I was in high school, but I always loved the game of basketball. I always put the work in. I always wanted to be the best that I could be.”

The only player who lists Maine as his birthplace and played in the NBA this season is Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson. There are a couple of players — current Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle among them — who went to the NBA after spending at least some of their college career at the University of Maine. But the basketball history, at least at the NBA level, of the Pine Tree State isn't exactly rich.

Flagg — who should be a high school senior right now in Newport, then decided to reclassify and go to college early — could soon change that.

“I'm so proud of this guy, what he’s done,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said last month at the Final Four. “I have to remind myself it’s a year early. He should be graduating high school now. To have the season that he’s had, I think the stats speak for itself. I think how hard he plays, the highlights, all those things speaks for itself. But it’s the person he is every day.”

Flagg is starting to settle into his new reality.

He's been considered the presumptive No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft for some time and now knows that pick is held by the Mavericks — winners of the draft lottery earlier this week. Flagg was at the lottery along with a handful of other draft picks, all of whom met NBA Commissioner Adam Silver briefly before the event started.

It's a rare Texas two-step of No. 1 picks for Dallas. The Dallas Wings had the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft last month and took UConn's Paige Bueckers, and now the Mavericks will follow as holders of a No. 1 pick.

This one-city, two-No. 1-picks double has happened only once before — 2003, when the Cleveland Rockers chose LaToya Thomas and the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted LeBron James two months later.

“I’m grateful to get this opportunity, any opportunity to any team, to be able to hear my name called on draft night and shake Adam Silver’s hand,” Flagg said. "I’m just really excited for this whole opportunity. The environment, just go through this process, not everybody gets to do this, so I just feel really blessed.”

In Dallas, Flagg could join a roster with fellow former Duke players Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II — and be part of a new chapter for the Mavericks, who saw their fan base rocked in February by the decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“As far as Dallas goes, they’ve got a lot of really good pieces," Flagg said. "D-Live, coming from Duke, that’s pretty cool. So I think it would be a really cool opportunity.”

Flagg has gone through the rigors of the draft combine this week, getting height, weight, vertical leap and various sizes measured, along with hitting the court for some shooting, agility and speed drills.

He averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Duke to the Final Four in his lone college season. He shot 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, 84% from the foul line and was The Associated Press’ national player of the year.

He's done Duke, and Montverde, and Maine proud. He has no plans on stopping now.

“Growing up in Maine, there’s people that told me I would never be able to make it to the next level or play Division I basketball because I’m from Maine and nobody plays up there," Flagg said. "I think just that message of ‘it doesn’t matter where you’re from,' as long as you work hard and trust yourself and trust your ability, then you can really accomplish anything.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Khaman Maluach, left, and Cooper Flagg warm up on the court at the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Khaman Maluach, from rear left, and Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson participate in the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Cooper Flagg participates at the 2025 NBA basketball draft combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Cooper Flagg (51), Khaman Maluach (14) and Ace Bailey (21) participate at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Cooper Flagg participates at the 2025 NBA basketball Draft Combine in Chicago, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)