Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed allocating $60 million to build a new indoor recreation center in the RFK Stadium neighbourhood.
If the D.C. Council approves the new sports complex budget, the project would take about four to five years to complete — assuming an ownership issue is resolved.
The mayor visited the stadium site on March 28 to outline her perspectives about development plans for the stadium and its neighbourhood.
“There will be indoor track, and gymnastics, and swimming and other sports and recreation activities that, currently, our kids are going outside of the District to participate in,” she said.
Her plans, however, have a major “if” — the federal government owns the stadium and nearby acreage.
Unless Congress agrees to change the rules, DC is required to use the land only for sports and entertainment purposes.
Bowser said she’s reluctant to make any major investments until D.C. has control over the land, but she’s holding out hope that the Washington Commanders might build a stadium there, NBC-4 reported.
“It is connected to the highways. It is connected to the Metro system. It’s a beautiful view of the United States Capitol,” she said. “We already know we have the best site.”
The D.C. Council must approve the budget for the new sports complex. If approved, it could take up to four or five years to complete.
Bowser said the plan for the stadium is to tear it down in the next few years, regardless of what happens with the football team and D.C’s control over the land, the broadcaster reported.
