OJB shared conceptual landscape architecture plans for the forthcoming Washington Commanders stadium, designed by HKS. The venue according to OJB will be a “stadium in a park” and rooted in the region’s riverfront ecology.
Approximately 30 percent of the 180-acre site in Washington, D.C. will be given over to active and passive recreational spaces. A continuous promenade will connect plazas to the east and west.
The site has significant natural grade change. OJB is leveraging this topography by embedding lawns, groves, promenades, and plazas around the stadium. These spaces will be used for year-round activities, not just game days for the Commanders.
Central to the overall design is what OJB calls the Festival Plaza at 22nd Street Northeast. This will become the area’s “front porch,” OJB said, and host seasonal markets, watch parties, performances, community events, and, of course, tailgating.
Arrival plazas will serve as gateways to the stadium. The plazas will be clearly identifiable lined with trees and signage.“We’re designing a landscape around the stadium that feels inseparable from Washington’s park and riverfront experience,” OJB founder Jim Burnett said in a statement.
“The goal is a civic place that can hold the excitement of game day but also supports community health and well-being every day: spaces to walk, gather, play, recharge, and celebrate,” Burnett continued. “It will offer something for everyone, in every season.”
The tranche of renderings by HKS was issued in March. Visuals showed the stadium’s form and how it will appear from East Capitol Street Northeast, the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, and East Capitol Street Southeast.
Preliminary site and building plans for the Commanders Stadium were approved by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) on April 2. The next NCPC meeting is scheduled for May 7.
Vertical construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2027 and full completion is scheduled for 2030 with kickoff soon after.