White House Wants Stadium Named After Trump

The White House said Saturday it would be “beautiful” to name the new home stadium of Washington’s NFL team after former President Donald Trump, following an ESPN report that an intermediary had informed the Commanders’ ownership group of Trump’s desire for the venue to bear his name.

The former president could deliver that message in person on Sunday, when he is expected to attend the Commanders’ home game against the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. The game will feature a halftime ceremony honoring American veterans.

“That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,” said Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Republican presidential candidate.

A spokesperson for the Washington Commanders told The Associated Press the team had “no comment” on the report, while a representative from the office of Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, also declined to comment.

Under a deal finalized in April, the Commanders are set to return to the nation’s capital in a new $4 billion stadium to be built on the site of the former RFK Stadium. The team had called RFK home for over three decades, during which it captured three Super Bowl titles in the 1980s and 1990s, before moving to Landover in 1997.

President Joe Biden signed legislation late last year transferring the RFK Stadium land from federal to city control. In January, Congress granted the District of Columbia a 99-year lease on the site, allowing redevelopment to proceed.

The project will be financed through a public-private partnership, with the Commanders contributing $2.7 billion and the city investing about $1.1 billion for the stadium, nearby housing, green space, and a sports complex along the Anacostia River. The D.C. City Council approved the deal in September, and demolition work has already begun.

Trump’s connection to the project has not been without controversy. In July, he threatened to obstruct the stadium deal unless the team reverted to its former name, the Washington Redskins, which was retired in 2020 following widespread criticism for its racial insensitivity.

“The Washington ‘Whatever’s’ should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,” Trump wrote in a July 20 social media post.

Despite the dispute, negotiations between the city and the team continued, leading to a finalized agreement days later.

The Commanders—previously owned by Dan Snyder until their 2023 sale to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris—adopted their current name three years ago.

Trump, who has a long history of attaching his name to real estate and branding ventures, including hotels, golf courses, and merchandise, appears eager to add a football stadium to that list.

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