U.S. Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the committee that oversees the District, introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday that could be the first step to bringing the Commanders back to the District.

“The House Oversight Committee remains committed to working with Washington, D.C. officials to ensure a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come,” Comer said in a press release. “After discussing city initiatives with D.C. Mayor Bowser and other local stakeholders, it has become clear that addressing the deteriorating conditions at the RFK Memorial stadium site is a top economic priority for the city.”

The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act would extend the land lease between D.C. and the federal government for up to 99 years, as The Washington Post first reported. The legislation would also allow the construction of a new stadium, commercial and residential developments, or recreational facilities on the grounds.

“The RFK site sits on underused federal land in D.C. that could be redeveloped, generating tax revenue for D.C.,” Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a press release. “Neither the Mayor nor the Council Chair opposes this bill, which would allow D.C. to put the site to productive use — a vast improvement on the current state of affairs.”

Mayor Bowser followed the bill announcement with news that she has formed a new group called Sports Team within her economic development department to plan, coordinate, and support professional and recreational sports. The Sports Team will also commission a “DC Sports Study” to identify funding mechanisms to support the goal of “maintaining, expanding, and attracting sports in D.C,” she said at a press conference Thursday.

“We are also celebrating a new opportunity to unlock the full potential of the RFK campus, to build on our waterfront as a Sports Capital destination, and to transform a sea of asphalt into jobs, housing, and amenities for DC residents,” Bowser said in a press release.

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“Congressman Comer and I found common ground at a hearing earlier this year about how important RFK is to D.C.’s comeback,” Mayor Bowser wrote. “We are grateful for his leadership and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s. We hope Congress will move this bipartisan legislation expeditiously.”

Control of the RFK site has long been one of the sticking points in a bid to bring the Commanders back to the District. RFK Stadium is already being demolished, but the land is currently owned by the federal government, so without a long-term lease and an agreement allowing it to be redeveloped, the District is unable to advance Mayor Bowser’s proposals for recreation facilities, new housing, parks, and potentially, a new stadium.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton proposed legislation to sell the land to District back in 2019, but disagreement over the potential for a stadium stalled that bill.

Bowser has pushed for District control of the site for years, citing the crumbling, empty stadium and the city’s inability to redevelop the land under the terms of the current federal lease. (The current lease expires in 2038, according to the Washington Business Journal.)

The mayor had also specified two main objections to the team’s return: the team’s former name, which it shed in 2020, and its troubled former owner, Dan Snyder.

Things have moved quickly since the Commanders were officially sold last week to Josh Harris, owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and his investment group.

Bowser has long said she would support using taxpayer dollars to prepare the site, including the cost of demolishing the current stadium, if the team itself paid for the new stadium.

The D.C. Council could also be a hurdle to building a stadium. Last summer, a narrow majority of the D.C. Council signed a letter stating their opposition to building a new stadium at RFK, noting the many uses the large, mostly undeveloped site could serve for the city, including housing, more green spaces, and retail. D.C. Councilmember Phil Mendelson previously supported Bowser’s fight to control the RFK grounds, but only if no taxpayer dollars were spent to build a stadium.

Now with the Commanders’ sale official, it’s a three-way fight between D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to win the team before their contract at FedEx Field ends in 2027. The stadium is currently located in Landover in Prince George’s County, and County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has spearheaded major investments in the Blue Line Corridor aimed at enticing the Commanders to stay.

“Our vision to build a sports and entertainment destination along the Blue Line Corridor and invest in the communities immediately surrounding the current stadium will support the Washington Commanders’ future here in Prince George’s,” Alsobrooks said in a statement. “We continue to believe that the team should grow its home and its future in our County.”

And Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has indicated he’d be willing to “leverage” taxpayer dollars to help build a new stadium in order to keep the team. In Virginia, Governor Youngkin has been broadly supportive of building a new stadium, along with other lawmakers who proposed a $1 billion bond deal last year to build for the Commanders — but that effort was ultimately abandoned.

“Anything Virginia would do first has to be good for Virginia taxpayers and, second of all, needs to be a collaboration between our administration and our General Assembly,” Youngkin said at a press conference last Friday. “I have said before, and I’ll say again, I want Virginia to be the best place to live and work and raise a family, and I think it should be the best place for a professional football team.”

Comer’s bill would also support other initiatives for the city. Last year, the Mayor’s budget included $60 million to create the SportsComplex@RFK, which will accommodate gymnastics, indoor track and field, boxing, and more, according to a press release.