Commanders Don’t Yet Control RFK Stadium Site. An Architect Has Grand Plans for It

The RFK Stadium land hasn’t officially transferred from federal to D.C. control yet, but architect Kyle Murphy already has a vision of how it will look. Murphy, founder of the architecture firm Kato, imagines the centerpiece to be a football stadium that’s not just for the Commanders.

His plan is meant to be adaptable to different types of events and would be seen as “a truly national stadium,” said Murphy. “We don’t really have what England has with Wembley or Mexico has with Estadio Azteca.”

While the RFK Stadium land hasn’t officially transferred from federal to D.C. control yet, Murphy sent a series of digital visualizations and a crisp animated video of a mixed-use stadium project on the 170-acre site via email to D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Commanders, and others in recent days. 

The renderings show an indoor stadium made of timber “to replace the massive carbon footprint of a steel structure” with clear vaulted ceilings and views of multiple monuments. (The first all-wooden soccer stadium won approval in the U.K. in December, but that venue will seat 5,000—less than 10% of the capacity of modern NFL stadiums.) Depictions of more than 2,000 housing units, an outdoor theater, running trail, an outdoor marketplace, and restaurants were also illustrated.  

Of course, it would seem to be a bit early for stadium plan models. On Monday, Bowser said before the land transfer can happen, it “requires an action by council” that “should be forwarded to them this week.” 

Once the land is officially in D.C.’s control per terms of the RFK Stadium bill that squeaked through Congress and was signed into law earlier this month, options for the land can officially be considered. While Bowser, Commanders ownership, and the NFL lobbied to get the bill passed to make the RFK Stadium site, it’s far from a 100% lock. 

Front Office Sports reported in December that RFK Stadium was the preferred site for managing owner Josh Harris and his limited partners. The Commanders targeted 2030 to open a new stadium, although Bowser said 2029 could be doable.

But beyond potential local opposition to a new stadium where the old one is still being torn down, there would need to be an agreement between D.C. and the Commanders—and that could include the touchy subject of public funding. 

Kato’s visualizations are more realistic than Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group’s surfing/ice skating moat that the team put out under former owner Dan Snyder in 2016. The team also released images of a planned stadium in Northern Virginia that failed to come to fruition due to the scandals swirling around Snyder, who eventually sold the team to Harris in 2023. 

With new ownership, political backing, and a fan base reenergized by an unexpected trip to the NFC championship game, Murphy’s vision or a similar one with less wood could eventually become a reality. 

“We’re just trying to get people excited about the possibilities,” said Murphy, who worked at one of the architectural firms hired to design U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Vikings. “This will hopefully shape the conversation.”