Sports stadiums are an often-cited beacon for driving economic growth. They’re noted among proponents for attracting further community investment, creating jobs, generating local business activity, and building housing through mixed-use development. With the Washington Commanders expected to kick off their 2030 season in their new $3.8 billion stadium, the anchor project of the larger RFK redevelopment plan is anticipated to bring sizable economic development opportunities to DC.

Alex Orfinger, publisher of the Washington Business Journal, met recently with community business leaders to discuss complexities of building a new stadium, as well as opportunities for growth and optimism for the future of DC.

Participants included: Michael Harlow, managing partner – DC Metro, CohnReznick; Chris Livingstone, principal, CohnReznick; Carmen Romero, CEO, True Ground Housing Partners; Mike Curtain, CEO, DC Central Kitchen; Chinyere Hubbard, president, DC Chamber; JJ Rivers, principal, Gensler; Chris Marshall, vice president, development Mid-Atlantic, The NRP Group; Fekede Gindaba, chief of staff, Events DC; Senih Geray, general manager, Waldorf Astoria; Chris Morrison, principal, Perkins Will; Joe French, vice president, U.S. Capital Markets Group, Avison Young; Matt Felix, general manager, JW Marriott; and Shawn Townsend, CEO, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Following are excerpts from the discussion, edited for publication.

Where do you draw optimism for the future of the city and the region despite challenges or uncertainties that parts of our community are facing?

Michael Harlow: We wanted to have a conversation about the Commanders Stadium because it has the potential to touch so many of the industries that we focus on, including hospitality, commercial real estate and affordable housing. We really hope that this development is a catalyst for growth in the District, following on the success of Nats Park and Audi Field. The new Commanders stadium stands out as a powerful example of how collaboration between public and private sector can make a meaningful, value-added impact on communities, as we have seen with other projects across the country.

JJ RIVERS: We have to take this opportunity to rethink how real estate can help shape the future of D.C. There’s always optimism to be found in any challenge if we focus on what’s next. It’s crucial that we work closely with the community to create spaces that meet their needs and serve as a catalyst for lasting, positive change.

Joe French: From my vantage point in commercial real estate, there is a lot to be optimistic about. The District is in the midst of an inventory renaissance, and there isn’t another market in the country experiencing the same level of transformation we’re seeing in the D.C. Metro, particularly with the shift from obsolete office to higher and better uses. I’m also encouraged that we have the political will to see these conversions and redevelopments come to fruition. The mayor and city council have done a strong job keeping D.C. regionally and nationally competitive for private-sector place makers to attract capital.

The District’s skyline will look fundamentally different within the next few years, with roughly seven million square feet of office space already in the conversion pipeline and another twelve million square feet of federal office space expected to redeveloped. That level of change will reshape our city, and I’m excited to watch how it unfolds over the next three to five years.

Carmen Romero: This is housing’s moment as a policy issue. Recently, the Senate Banking Committee voted unanimously to advance housing legislation: Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) Housing Act of 2025. This is a bipartisan issue. Businesses, like Amazon that have come to the DMV showed us that an inclusive development formula can be done right. These stadium deals that are coming to DC have the potential to do the same thing. I’m optimistic about that.

Chris Morrison: We all are challenged as leaders to be cheerleaders for our industries and the champions for a road to success. We have to seek out and write the narrative that is going to create our future. That is going to be the dynamic for the ecosystem.

Chinyere Hubbard: What I’ve seen a lot of with DOGE and federal workforce transitions is that the startup community has really expanded. The Chamber has really leaned into that and found resources and opportunities to support these future entrepreneurs.

How do you see the city benefitting from the new Commanders stadium and the future development at RFK?

Chris Morrison: The mayor and her administration have really pivoted in order to align a positive development narrative with the administration’s goals. I think that that’s been a huge positive and it gives me a lot of hope about the economic development in our community.

A lot of the things that you see with the stadium and with Southwest redevelopment can be aligned very neatly with city beautification. Any of these developments or redevelopments could be easily aligned with that mission. That gives me a lot of optimism as we move forward.

There are so many great examples of major sporting facilities being economic catalysts for redevelopment. What excites me about this one is that it’s going to really impact a largely underserved community.

Chris Marshall: If you’re going to build, you must build affordable housing. This is a neighborhood opportunity.

Chris Livingstone: The stadium itself has the potential to be a great social venue to bring people together. As a major proponent of the development, the city has the ability to leverage its dollars to create an environment than connects people across the region. The entire populace of DC can benefit from this new stadium.

Shawn Townsend: We need to be able to get to two to three, four years from now. Some of the policies that have shaken out have impacted hospitality. It’s not good for restaurants right now. Restaurants need to survive to see some of the economic development that’s happening over the next couple of years. If new restaurants are not opening, if there aren’t new business starts, I’d worry about my pipeline development.

Michael Harlow: When we picked the economic development of Commanders Stadium we were really looking for something positive to talk about in a very challenging environment. This has been mostly positive.

Carmen Romero: There is duality to the moment we are in. As leaders in the DMV, we have to understand the possibility this opportunity presents while not ignoring the real challenges families are facing the DMV. That is real. We as leaders can’t just lean into the optimism of the opportunity without also acknowledging the magnitude of this moment. We have to be bold enough to build transformative developments that benefit the entire region and also take care of people in the community, especially the most vulnerable.

Mike Curtain: I would love to see this talk of optimism translate into things happening in a cool way. I use our own experience as an example of how we were able to grow. A developer wanted to make an impact in this city and he believed in the work we were doing. He saw the economic power of it, the power to create jobs for restaurants, and break the cycle of poverty. If that could be modeled, that has the power to create jobs and put people in affordable housing.

Shawn Townsend: It’s important to be optimistic about the future, but as stakeholders, as elected officials, we have to be thoughtful about how we actually get there. The arena being closed for three summers and the impact of not having 20,000 people downtown has had a significant impact on retail, specifically restaurants.

Joe French: RFK is one of the most significant redevelopment opportunities in the country. This site has the scale and visibility to host World Cups, Final Fours, national political conventions, and global events that will showcase the capital city to the world while anchoring year-round economic activity. There are thirty NFL cities, but only one is the nation’s capital. The data are clear: Washington’s last three professional stadium investments spurred more than twelve million square feet of new development and produced rent premiums of 58 percent for retail, 35 percent for office, and 46 percent for hotels. RFK sits at the junction of three Opportunity Zones, a new transit corridor, and 174 acres of underused waterfront. If it is delivered with a balanced mix of housing, experiential retail, and connected infrastructure, RFK can generate lasting economic growth and evolve into the most consequential mixed-use development in Washington.

Chris Morrison: I think that you have to manage expectations as we’re talking about accomplishments in affordable housing development. We’re looking at trying to boost the numbers of those impacted and affected by development. There’s still the challenge that we have as a community to figure out where all of those that have been displaced are going to go. I don’t know that this project has that answer, but I think that the pros so far outweigh the alternative that we have to pursue what we can achieve because of all of the good that it will do.

From an overall state-of-business perspective, what are you hearing from your members or stakeholders right now?

Chinyere Hubbard: Some members have lost contracts and some have lost jobs. They are feeling the impact. We’ve also been here before through various disruptions and we made it to the other side. We look at where there are opportunities. This administration supports apprenticeship programs, so we’re looking at grants with the Labor Department and finding ways to support our businesses who want to stand up an apprenticeship program. Our businesses are struggling, but we are finding opportunities for them.

Fekede Gindaba: I would like to remind everyone that DC is open for business. What we see from the investment side is that there are opportunities. The answer is that we continue delivering on our mission, we continue being the best destination. That’s why we’re trying to defend our markets and chain of production, capture that moment and promote the destination.

Mike Curtain: Small grassroots groups that are front-line providers like a pantry or mutual aid network are really being stretched and we are being stretched to support them. The danger for folks that are facing food insecurity is that these small groups are losing all of their budget and don’t have a way to recover.

Shawn Townsend: The challenge for our industry continues to be ICE and the threat of detaining workers. There’s a heightened level of fear amongst the hospitality industry. Business wise, August was very slow. We’ve seen about a 30% decrease in sales across the board for our members.

What are you experiencing from the local hospitality sector?

Matt Felix: It’s certainly difficult to attract leisure travelers when there’s messaging that this city is dangerous. Leisure is small part of our business. The larger and more concerning issue is attendance for large conferences or corporate events. Large organizations make decisions many years out on where to host their conferences or trade events. If the next open year is 2030, the risk is that organizations may decide that DC is not the place they want to be. They may need to choose a North American location and bypass the US all together. The impact is not short-term. It’s going to take several years to navigate through.

Senih Geray: My situation is slightly different. Perhaps that’s because of the luxury bubble we’re in. We’re exceeding our 2025 budget significantly. Of course there are pain points in the picture, but they are small overall. We’re feeling the pinch from the local markets within Food & Beverage not being as robust as they used to be. The demographic that’s driving success is the diplomatic sector. We see a lot of last-minute appointments being granted. Along with that comes large groups of delegations to the U.S.