Trump wants his name on Washington Commanders stadium and he has ‘a lot of cards to play’
President Donald Trump wants the stadium planned for the Washington Commanders, an NFL team based in the nation’s capital, to bear his name.
A senior White House source told ESPN that there had been indirect communication between the administration and a member of the team’s owners about his wish.
“This is what the president wants, and it will probably happen,” the source added.
The new $3.7 billion stadium, approved in September and scheduled to open by 2030, will be built on the former site of RFK Stadium on the Anacostia River, which served as the team’s home from 1961-1996.
“It would be a great name, because it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ESPN via email Friday evening.
The White House and a spokesperson for the commanders did not immediately respond to Fortunerequest for comment.
An unmanned team source told ESPN that there have yet to be any formal conversations with Trump regarding his request, although they could happen soon as the president plans to be in attendance at the Commanders’ home game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Billionaire Josh Harris heads the Commanders ownership group and is expected to welcome Trump as a guest to the game, according to ESPN. Trump is also expected to participate in halftime activities honoring veterans.
But the decision to put Trump’s name on the new stadium may not be solely up to the team, a source with direct knowledge of the process told ESPN.
The Commanders own the naming rights to the new stadium, presumably to sell to a corporate sponsor. But the District of Columbia Council, which approved the project, would likely decide to memorialize an individual in the stadium’s name.
The D.C. Council will lease the stadium to the Commanders and the National Park Service, which manages the 180-acre government land on which the 65,000-seat stadium will be built.
“The team doesn’t have the authority. They can’t name the stadium…by themselves,” the anonymous source told ESPN. “The city would be involved in this decision, as would the parks department.”
Most NFL teams have sold their naming rights to corporate sponsors for hundreds of millions of dollars, but the anonymous source with knowledge of Trump’s wishes told ESPN that Trump did not want to buy the name or have a corporate sponsor buy it for him.
“He has some cards to play. He can make it very difficult, through government environmental approvals and other things, to make sure that everyone who wants this stadium to be built will join them in putting their name on it,” the source familiar with the stadium deal told ESPN. “Trump has a lot of cards to play to achieve his goals.”
The D.C. Council and National Park Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has already made demands of the team. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Harris announced that the Commanders’ new stadium would be built in Washington in April.
But in July, Trump threatened to block construction if Harris didn’t change the team’s name from Commanders to Redskins, which drew criticism from Native American groups for being offensive.
The Washington franchise changed its logo and name in 2020, and was called the Washington Football Team for two years. The Commanders have had their current name since their 2022 season and have said they will keep it, despite Trump’s demands.
