FedExField

Lore & Background

The stadium opened on September 14, 1997, as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium, named after the team's owner who died months before its opening. Daniel Snyder bought the team and stadium in May 1999, briefly renaming it Redskins Stadium before selling naming rights to FedEx; it was renamed FedExField on November 21, 1999. In July 2023, Snyder sold the team and stadium to a group headed by Josh Harris. In February 2024, FedEx opted out of its naming rights contract, and the stadium was temporarily renamed Commanders Field until a sponsorship with Northwest Federal Credit Union renamed it Northwest Stadium on August 27, 2024. The stadium is expected to be demolished after the Commanders move to New Stadium at RFK Campus in Washington, D.C., upon its opening in 2030.

In Their Own Story

The air is crisp and cold, biting at exposed skin as the players gather in the tunnel. The roar from eighty thousand voices vibrates through the concrete floor, muffled slightly by the darkness ahead. A quarterback adjusts his helmet, wiping sweat from his brow despite the chill. The long walk stretches out before them, a final moment of solitude before the chaos of the gridiron begins. At the end of the tunnel, the stadium lights flare bright against the night sky. The crowd surges as the team emerges onto the grass field. For one second, there is silence, then the noise returns, louder than ever. It is a ritual repeated every Sunday at FedExField, where the journey from shadow to light defines the spirit of the game.

Reader's Guide

The stadium has five levels: the Lower Level (named after Bobby Mitchell), the Club Level (named after Joe Gibbs), the Upper Level (named after Pete Rozelle), and the Lower and Upper Suite Levels. It had 257 suites as of 2023. The stadium is about one mile (1.6 km) from the Morgan Boulevard station, the nearest Washington Metro station. It has hosted college football games (including the annual Prince George's Classic), international soccer matches (including six matches of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup), club soccer exhibitions, a rugby union match between New Zealand and the USA Eagles in 2021, and concerts. Its bid as a 2026 FIFA World Cup venue was rejected by FIFA in 2021.

Did You Know?

• The stadium had the NFL's largest capacity at 91,000 from 2004 until 2010 and currently seats 64,000.
• The stadium is owned and operated by the Commanders, with non-NFL events managed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE).
• The stadium's original site was named Raljon after owner Jack Kent Cooke's sons Ralph and John.
• In 2022, a barrier in the away team tunnel gave way, causing fans to fall near Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.