Trump seeks to have DC football stadium named after him: report
President Donald Trump wants the Washington Commanders’ new football stadium to be named after him, according to a new report from ESPN.
According to a senior White House source, the president’s people have been privately discussing the possibility with investor Josh Harris, who leads the Commanders ownership group.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt would neither confirm nor deny the report when contacted by ESPN on Friday night, saying, “That would be a beautiful name, since it was President Trump who made the reconstruction of the new stadium possible.”
Another senior White House source was more direct, telling the outlet: “It’s what the president wants and it will probably happen.”
Roberto Schmidt via Getty Images
A Commanders spokesperson declined to comment to ESPN on Saturday and did not immediately respond to questions from News themezone.
Getting the $3.7 billion sports complex named after Trump, however, would require more than convincing Commander leaders.
Although the team owns the naming rights to the stadium, the Washington, D.C. council and the National Park Services would also have to approve it. The council leases the stadium to the team and the National Park Service manages the federal land on which the new complex will sit.
Still, another source with knowledge of the stadium deal said the president “has a lot of leverage” to get what he wants.
Kevin Carter via Getty Images
“He has 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 built comes together to put their name on it,” the source told ESPN. “Trump has a lot of cards to play to get his way.”
Trump reportedly doesn’t want to pay for the naming rights, which are typically sold to corporate sponsors for millions.
The president has tried to use that influence to force commanders to do what he wants sooner.
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In July, he threatened to block construction of the stadium if the team did not bring back its former name, Washington Redskins, which was abandoned in 2020 after decades of criticism that the name is racially insensitive to Native Americans.