FedExField

Northwest Stadium is an American football stadium in Landover, Maryland, U.S., located east of Washington, D.C.. It is the home stadium of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 until 2010, it had the NFL's largest seating capacity at 91,000 and currently seats 62,000. Northwest Stadium is owned and operated by the Commanders, with non-NFL events managed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE). The stadium opened in 1997 as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. It was known as FedExField from 1999 until 2024, when FedEx relinquished its sponsorship. The stadium was briefly known as Commanders Field before Northwest Federal Credit Union bought naming rights.

History

By the early 1990s, Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke sought to replace RFK Stadium as the team's stadium. Cooke considered a site next to Laurel Park Racecourse along Whiskey Bottom and Brock Bridge roads, but lack of parking and public support prompted him to choose to build instead on Wilson Dairy Farm in Landover, Maryland. A special exit, Exit 16 (initially Arena Drive, later renamed Medical Center Drive), was built from Interstate 495, also known as the Capital Beltway. Cooke named the site Raljon after his sons Ralph and John, registering it with the United States Postal Service for the stadium's ZIP Code. Cooke died months before the opening of the new stadium, which his sons named Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. It opened on September 14, 1997, hosting a game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Daniel Snyder bought the team and stadium from Cooke's estate in May 1999, briefly renaming it Redskins Stadium before selling naming rights to FedEx for 27 years at an average of $7.6 million per year. The stadium was renamed FedExField on November 21, 1999. The Raljon dateline requirements and placename were phased out by Snyder by the start of the 1999 season. From 2002 to 2010, the Redskins led the NFL in home attendance but demand declined thereafter. In the early 2010s, 14,000 seats were removed from the upper deck. Another 4,000 seats had been removed by 2015, with the current capacity of 62,000 being set in 2022.

In July 2023, Snyder sold the team and stadium to a group headed by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion. The following year, Harris's company Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) took over operating non-NFL events at the stadium. In February 2024, FedEx announced that it had opted out of its naming rights contract before its expiration in 2026. The stadium was temporarily renamed Commanders Field until a sponsorship with Northwest Federal Credit Union was announced to rename it Northwest Stadium on August 27, 2024.

Successor

In April 2025, the Commanders and D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser announced plans to build a new stadium at the site of RFK Stadium to house the team by 2030. If the plans are approved by the D.C. Council, the Commanders would vacate Northwest Stadium upon its completion.

Design

The stadium has five levels: the Lower Level, the Club Level, the Upper Level, and the Lower and Upper Suite Levels. The Lower Level is named after Bobby Mitchell, a running back and executive with the team from 1962 to 2002. The Club Level is named after Joe Gibbs, the team's head coach from 1981 to 1992 and from 2004 to 2007. The Upper Level is named after former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. The stadium has 257 suites .

Other events

College football

Northwest Stadium hosts the annual Prince George's Classic college football game, which is a game usually between two historically black universities. It has hosted several other college football games, including a 1998 game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen, a 2004 game between the USC Trojans and Virginia Tech Hokies, and the Army–Navy Game in 2011 and 2024.

Soccer

The stadium has been used for several international soccer matches. It hosted five matches of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, including the United States' 3–2 quarterfinal victory over Germany. On March 28, 2015, Argentina defeated El Salvador before a crowd of 53,978.

The stadium has also hosted club soccer exhibition matches. During the 2005 World Series of Soccer, D.C. United hosted Chelsea F.C.; the game drew 31,473 spectators, D.C. United's third-highest ever home attendance. On August 9, 2009, D.C. United hosted Real Madrid for another international friendly. On July 30, 2011, Manchester United ended its 2011 summer tour with a 2–1 win over F.C. Barcelona in front of 81,807 fans. On July 29, 2014, Manchester United played Inter Milan in the International Champions Cup. On July 26, 2017, F.C. Barcelona played Manchester United again as part of the International Champions Cup, drawing 80,162 fans and winning 1–0 on Neymar's last goal for F.C. Barcelona. On August 4, 2018, Real Madrid beat Juventus 3-1 during the 2018 International Champions Cup. On July 23, 2019, Real Madrid defeated Arsenal on penalty kicks.

Northwest Stadium was considered but rejected as a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue.

Rugby union

On October 23, 2021, the stadium hosted a rugby union match between New Zealand and the USA Eagles that drew 39,720 people.

Concerts

The stadium has hosted several festivals, concerts, and tours, including the HFStival and Broccoli City Festival, the Reputation Stadium Tour by Taylor Swift, the On the Run II Tour by Jay-Z and Beyoncé, the After Hours til Dawn Tour by the Weeknd, the +–=÷× Tour by Ed Sheeran, the Renaissance World Tour by Beyoncé, and the Grand National Tour by Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

Criticisms

The stadium is regarded as one of the worst in the NFL. Former team owner Daniel Snyder had been in discussions about building a new stadium as early as 2007. In 2005, eight years after the stadium opened, 1,488 premium "dream seats" in three rows were added in front of what was the first row when the stadium was built. The stadium is about away from the Morgan Boulevard station, the nearest Washington Metro station to the stadium. Furthermore, federal regulations prohibit publicly paid shuttle service from public transit agencies when a private service is available.

In 2021, three water leaks occurred near two fans. In 2022, as Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was walking down the away team tunnel, a barrier separating seated fans from the away team tunnel gave way and caused several people to fall near him. According to several witnesses, team staff did not show care for or call for medical attention for the fans who fell, but yelled "get the fuck off the field". The team released a statement responding to the criticisms, claiming the team did provide medical evaluations on site, but one fan denied that they did claiming that Hurts was the only one who asked if they were okay. Hurts later wrote an open letter about the incident to the NFL, asking that action be taken to prevent an incident like this from recurring.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Northwest Stadium
1997 establishments in Maryland
American football venues in Maryland
Buildings and structures in Prince George's County, Maryland
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment
Music venues in Maryland
NFL venues
Soccer venues in Maryland
Sports venues completed in 1997
Sports venues in the Washington metropolitan area
Tourist attractions in Prince George's County, Maryland
Washington Commanders stadiums