D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is renewing her call for the federal government to turn over control of the 190-acre RFK Stadium campus, pledging to build a $60 million indoor athletic facility on the site as part of a “down payment” on what she says is the site’s untapped potential if the city were allowed to take over.

“Nowhere else in the District will you see so much untapped land and untapped potential,” she said during a press conference on Monday on the grounds of the sprawling — and largely unused — campus. “Sadly what you see is a crumbling stadium. You see a parking lot next to a parking lot next to a parking lot. You see 190 acres of empty grass and asphalt. We know that has to change.”

The RFK campus is owned by the U.S. Department of Interior, but leased to D.C. for sports and recreation use through 2038. The stadium itself has remained empty since D.C. United decamped for Audi Field in 2018; a planned start to demolition of the stadium itself is planned for later this year, or next — though it could be delayed. For years D.C. officials have been pushing for Congress to give or sell the land to the city, which they say they could use for housing, retail, offices, and recreation.

In the meantime, D.C. has done what it can to improve the campus within the confines of what the federal lease allows. In 2019 the city converted 27 acres of former parking into what’s now known as The Fields at RFK — three turf fields and a new playground. In her recent budget proposal, Bowser is going one step further with a $60 million indoor athletic facility for swimming, track, boxing, rock climbing, and other activities now mostly found outside the city.

“I consider it a down payment on what’s next for the campus,” she said. “We need the federal government to transfer RFK to the District. We have proven the District can have better use of unused federal land,” she added, pointing to development happening at the old Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest, St. Elizabeths in Southeast, and even the newly renovated Franklin Park in downtown D.C.

And yes, that could even include RFK being the site of new stadium for the Washington Commanders. “We have the best site, everybody knows that. It is connected to the highways, it is connected to the Metro system, it has a beautiful view of the U.S. Capitol,” she said.

Still, Bowser’s push for football to return to RFK could actually be complicating her demand that the site be turned over to D.C. Some congressional Democrats have said they are hesitant to turn over land that could be used to benefit Commanders owner Dan Snyder, who is currently part of a congressional investigation into allegations of sexual harassment of female team employees.

Speaking on Monday, Bowser tried to deflect attention from Snyder, not even mentioning him by name and arguing that the principle of D.C. getting the land should be what people focus on.

“We had the same arguments over Franklin Park, and that had no controversial owner,” she said, referring to the long debates over turning some control of the park to D.C. so it could be improved. “I don’t want to be distracted by individuals when we are talking about putting land into productive use.”