Several options at play as DC leaders consider transit for new Commanders stadium

Homa Bash WASHINGTON

DC leaders discuss transit options for the Commanders’ new stadium.

D.C. council members and transportation leaders met for hours on Wednesday to figure out the best way to get people in and out of the new Commanders stadium.

Planning starts:

We’re just about 14 months away from the start of construction, but the conversation about transportation is well underway. 

Leaders repeatedly made it clear that this transportation plan isn’t just for Commanders’ fans on eight or nine Sundays — it’s for the people who live in these neighborhoods surrounding the stadium 365 days a year.

“Even folks who were opposed to the stadium early on, they know it’s coming, so they want it to be successful,” D.C. Councilmember and Chair of the Transportation Committee Charles Allen said. 

He says success means a smooth ride for fans and everyday residents. 

“It’s not having tens of thousands of people driving cars here. It’s thinking about transportation. Get people on Metro,” Allen said. 

“I can imagine there’s going to be a lot of cars and people trying to park, so being able to alleviate that is going to be a benefit to the community,” resident Olo Olakanmi told FOX 5. 

Big picture view:

The D.C. Council hearing saw representatives from the D.C. Department of Transportation, WMATA, and the Commanders, as well as ANC commissioners in neighboring communities.

Allen emphasized that this is more than just a stadium — they’re also planning 6,000 to 8,000 new homes, 20,000 people living in a brand-new neighborhood.

As of now, there are two parking garages planned for the Commanders Stadium, expected to hold about 6,000 vehicles. But when it comes to transit, there are several possibilities at play.

Dig deeper:

Metro would need major upgrades to use the Stadium Armory stop — likely including adding an entrance, elevator, and expanding the mezzanine.

A new Metro stop could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to build.

WMATA is getting $2 million from the District for planning. General Manager Randy Clarke said that the goal is to have 40% of game day traffic come from public transit.

But that could also include bus rapid transit lines moving people from Union Station to the stadium along the H Street corridor.

“I have confidence we’re all going to work together, and everyone has the same goal here — to make this the best possible urban sports facility and mixed-use development in the country,” Clarke said. 

The plan right now is to have shovels in the ground by March 2027 and construction complete by May 2030.

“We want to make this the most transit-friendly stadium but also make sure all modes of transportation are optimized for folks to get there,” DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum said. 

So, a lot of these transit decisions need to be made fairly quickly.