WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office says the Commanders’ planned stadium on the old RFK campus in Washington will not include a power plant that burns natural gas, even as city officials concede some gas service will probably be needed in the building’s first years.
The reason is the calendar. City officials say Pepco cannot promise enough electrical capacity to fully run the stadium by April 2028, when testing of its permanent systems has to start for the building to open on time. Limited gas would fill the gap for heating and kitchen equipment until the grid around the site is upgraded.
Officials want the roughly $3.7 billion stadium open by 2030 so the District can bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup and the Rugby World Cup the same year.
The gas question first came up in September before the D.C. Council, when Brian Hanlon, who leads the District’s buildings department and oversees the stadium effort, said the team intended to ask lawmakers to waive the 2022 ban on burning gas in new buildings. Hanlon said a gas plant was not under consideration.
The team says its plans include ice thermal energy storage, solar panels and water reuse. Neighbors in Kingman Park and environmental groups say they want more openness about the stadium’s energy plans, pointing to high asthma rates in Wards 7 and 8.
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