HKS shared conceptual, exterior renderings today of a $3.7 billion stadium in Washington, D.C. for the Washington Commanders—at the former RFK Memorial Stadium site on the Anacostia River waterfront. The site is on axis with the U.S. Capital Building and the Washington Monument, in alignment with the L’Enfant Plan.
Renderings show a roofed stadium that can host 70,000 people with white lamellas on the exterior that perhaps mimic Greco-Roman colonnades. The building will serve as an anchor of a mixed-use development, HKS affirmed. The architects noted 30 percent of the 180-acre site will be open space.
“Every design decision is guided by the significance of place—shaped by its local, regional and national history, and generations of memories rooted in RFK Stadium,” HKS Global Venues Director Mark A. Williams said in a statement.
Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris announced that HKS had been selected to design a new NFL stadium for the franchise last November, as reported by AN. Rumors swirled about President Trump wanting to have the stadium named after himself.
On January 7, National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) chairman Will Scharf said Trump wants the stadium to have “classical, neoclassical elements” and “architectural features in keeping with the capital more generally,” Washington Business Journal reported. (The next day, architect Shalom Baranes proposed to the NCPC a 1-story addition to the White House West Wing.)
In describing the stadium’s attributes, Williams called it “monumental in presence, grounded in the L’Enfant Plan, and scaled to the urban fabric of the District,” before noting, “the stadium design will be a bold civic landmark that carries the city’s architectural legacy forward in a way that is confident, dynamic, and unmistakably Washington, D.C.”
The stadium will host 200 activations per year, including sporting events, concerts, festivals, and major national celebrations. Its enclosed, concave roof can change in opacity depending on the time of day, washing the cavernous space in natural light.
Up to 6,000 residential units will be built on the campus—1,900 of which will be affordable. The mixed-use buildings surrounding the stadium will have green roofs, according to renderings. New youth sports facilities, and hotel and retail components will be developed as well. The outdoor plazas will provide new access to the riverfront.
Vertical construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2027 and full completion is scheduled for 2030.