President Donald Trump is reportedly seeking to have the Washington Commanders’ planned new stadium bear his name.
On Monday, Nov. 10—just one day after Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth attended the Commanders’ game against the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.—ESPN cited multiple White House sources claiming the president hopes to secure naming rights for the team’s future home.
After months of discussions, the D.C. Council voted on Sept. 17 to approve the Commanders’ proposal to demolish the unused Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, located along the Anacostia River in the eastern part of Washington, D.C., and replace it with a new facility.
When asked about reports that Trump wants the stadium named after him, the White House responded with a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:
“That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible.”
The president previously addressed the stalled $3.7 million stadium plan in July, telling reporters: “We’ll see what happens. I’ve been looking at the deal, and I don’t blame them. It’s a very important piece of property, so we’ll see. But if I can help them out, I would.”
At that time, Trump’s concern was focused less on stadium naming rights and more on the team’s name itself. He commented that his “controversial statement” was his belief that the franchise should revert to its former name, the Washington Redskins.
“I wouldn’t have changed the name… It doesn’t have the same ring to me,” he said.
The franchise originally began as the Boston Braves in 1932 before being renamed the Boston Redskins in 1933. The team moved to Washington, D.C., in 1937 and became the Washington Redskins.
Following public pressure during a period of nationwide protests and racial unrest in 2020, the organization dropped the “Redskins” name after longstanding criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans. They played as the Washington Football Team for two seasons before adopting the Commanders name in 2022.
In April, Trump revisited the issue, saying: “The Indians don’t know why these names are being taken off. I think it’s degrading to the Indian population, and it’s a great population.”
He continued: “I think [Redskins] is a superior name to what they have now, and it had heritage behind it, it had something special.”
