WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The White House said Saturday it would be “beautiful” to name the new stadium for Washington’s NFL team after President Donald Trump, following an ESPN report that an intermediary has told the Commanders’ ownership group that Trump wants the stadium to bear his name.
Trump could deliver the message in person on Sunday when he is expected to watch the Commanders play the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. American veterans are scheduled to be honored at halftime.
“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 president.
A spokesperson for the Washington Commanders told The Associated Press in a text message that the team had no comment on the report. Meanwhile, the office of Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, declined to comment.
Under a deal announced in April between the team and the District of Columbia, the Commanders will return to the nation’s capital in a new stadium expected to cost nearly $4 billion. The stadium will be built on the site of the RFK Stadium, where the team played for more than three decades and won three Super Bowls during the 1980s and 1990s.
Democratic President Joe Biden signed a bill late last year to transfer land—including the old stadium site—from the federal government to the city. The agreement, with the team contributing $2.7 billion and the city investing roughly $1.1 billion for the stadium, housing, green space, and a sports complex along the Anacostia River, was approved by the D.C. City Council in September, and demolition has already begun.
In July, Trump threatened to hold up the deal by insisting that the team change its name from the Commanders back to the Redskins, a name considered offensive to Native Americans.
Trump has long enjoyed having his name appear on various properties and products stemming from his real estate career—including high-rise buildings, hotels, golf courses, as well as branding deals featuring Trump-emblazoned Bibles, watches, and cologne.
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AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Newark, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
https://ktar.com/national-news/white-house-says-naming-new-washington-commanders-stadium-after-trump-would-be-beautiful/5772861/