Thats if a well-sourced report from ESPN is to be believed. The US president has apparently let it be known to the ownership group of the Washington Commanders that he wants the teams new stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2030, to take his name. Its what the president wants, and it will probably happen, a senior White House official told ESPN.
Not quite. While the franchise was a dominant force in the 1980s, its last Super Bowl appearance came in the 1991 season. Although the Commanders fortunes were revived last season thanks to new owners and a brilliant young quarterback in Jayden Daniels, their form has slumped again this season.
Good point what would Trump have in common with a team with a dubious history with women and minorities? Having said that, the move would give Trump two things he enjoys: power and revenge. The NFL is by far the most popular league in America, as well as the richest in the world having his name on one of its stadiums will make sure he is even more prominent than he already is. It would also be a counterpunch against a league with which Trump has had a fractious relationship. In 1983 he bought a franchise in the rival United States Football League in an attempt to force a merger with the NFL, only to wind up sinking the younger league. In 2014, Trump was frustrated in his attempt to enter the NFLs inner circle when his bid to buy the Buffalo Bills fell short. The clashes have continued into his presidency: during his first term, he described NFL players protesting against social injustice as sons of bitches. In his second term he has urged the Commanders to revert to their previous racist nickname and attacked the leagues decision to choose Trump critic Bad Bunny to play the Super Bowls halftime show this season.
Related: Trump reportedly wants new NFL stadium in Washington named after him
This is a man who has already managed to summon up various Trump Towers, Trump Plaza, Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Shuttle, Trump Vodka, Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Mortgage and the Donald J Trump Ballroom (to name but a few). Plus, Trump has become adept at getting billionaires to do what he wants of late, while he has found himself given a warmer greeting in the sports world in his second term as president. The route to naming the stadium is a little tricky but Trump has leverage. As president, he oversees the federal agencies responsible for environmental and land-use approvals at the proposed site of the new stadium, so he could speed up, or slow down, the process if he chose to. He has cards to play, one source told ESPN. He can make it very difficult to get this stadium built unless people align with him on the name. It should also be noted, that the Commanders will not be the ones to name the stadium. The proposed site sits on National Park Service land, and the District of Columbia Council will lease the stadium to the team. Again, Trump can lean on these bodies if he so chooses. The team doesnt have the authority. They cant name the stadium on their own, a source with direct knowledge of the process told ESPN. The city would be involved, and the Park Service would be involved.
They are, but those people tend to be dead. Two of the most famous stadiums in the NFL Green Bays Lambeau Field and Chicagos Soldier Field are tributes to people who have passed away. In Green Bays case, the stadium was renamed for the teams founder and coach Earl Curly Lambeau a few months after his death, while the stadium in Chicago was a tribute to US soldiers who had died in the first world war. Washingtons former stadium was named after a politician, but its name illustrates how it differed from Trumps proposal: the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium was renamed as a tribute to the US senator who was assassinated several months beforehand. Its also notable that Lambeau and RFK did not lobby to get their names on the stadiums.
It should be noted that Trump would probably be out of power by the time the new Commanders stadium opens. But you can draw your own conclusions from living leaders who have their names on stadiums. Cameroons authoritarian leader has the Paul Biya Omnisports Stadium, Indias authoritarian leader has the Narendra Modi Stadium, Saudi Arabias authoritarian de facto leader has the proposed Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, while Sierra Leones authoritarian leader had the Siaka Stevens National Stadium while he was in power. Hong Kong also went for the Queen Elizabeth Stadium during her reign, but she was a monarch and therefore completely different from Trump.