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Commanders Stadium Proposal Has NFL’s Smallest Capacity, per Report

The Commanders currently play in one of the league’s biggest stadiums, FedExField, which held more than 91,000 fans in the mid-2000s. That capacity and attendance have both dwindled over the last 10-plus years, and now it appears that the franchise plans to make the team’s potential new home stadium a much more intimate experience.

The Richmond Star-Dispatch reports that the Commanders have conducted an economic impact analysis on a new stadium in Virginia, a project that projects to cost $3 billion. Per the report, the proposal calls for a 55,000-seat stadium, which would take over as the smallest in the league. The Bills’ new stadium is set to hold 60,000 fans, and will be the smallest in the NFL when built, but Washington’s venue would take over that title if built to the current proposal. 

Team president Jason Wright did not reject the idea when asked in an interview with the Virginia Mercury.

“We are much more likely to build the smallest venue in the NFL than the largest,” he said.

As recently as 2008, Washington led the league in home attendance, drawing in 708,835 fans during the team’s home games. The NFC East-rival Cowboys have led the league in home attendance in each season since. Last season, Washington averaged just 52,751 fans per home game, totaling 422,009 fans at FedExField—the second-lowest mark in the league.

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