Poll: D.C. residents want Commanders back in city

D.C.-area residents want the Commanders to relocate to the city, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll .

• 51% prefer D.C., while within D.C. proper 76% want the team to return.

Why it matters: The poll adds an intriguing dimension to the stadium sweepstakes, boosting Mayor Muriel Bowser's case to bring the team back to the RFK Stadium site.

By the numbers: Among Commanders fans, 63% favor D.C., where the team spent its glory years before moving to the Maryland suburbs.

Follow the money: Using taxpayer dollars on a new stadium in D.C. is not as controversial as it used to be.

• In 2022, only 30% of D.C. residents favored using public funds to finance a new stadium, per previous Post polling.
• That support grew in 2024 to 47% versus 46% opposed.

Meanwhile, suburbanites oppose public funding (55% in Maryland and 61% in Northern Virginia).

Catch up fast: A congressional bill needed to kickstart any redevelopment of RFK Stadium is currently stalled.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) announced last week that he wants the team to honor its former logo in some fashion before the bill can move.