Donald Trump has thrown plans for a new Washington Commanders stadium into chaos — but Stephen A. Smith has a solution.
After nearly 30 years of playing in Maryland, the Commanders and the District of Columbia government earlier this year agreed a deal that would see the team return to the site of the old RFK Stadium.
However, Trump has suggested he could block those $3.7bn plans if the franchise does not change its name back to the ‘Redskins’ — which is considered offensive to Native Americans and was changed in 2020.
The US president’s demand, which was shared on his Truth Social platform, has caused major uproar.
Breaking down the situation on ESPN, Smith suggested that Trump’s comments on the Commanders were ‘petty’ and ‘evasive’ before arguing that he is trying to distract from some of the real frustrations voters have.
As well as dabbling into the politics of the situation, the First Take host then touted the idea of Washington and the Baltimore Ravens sharing a stadium in Maryland to avoid something like this happening in future.
“I’ve always wanted a stadium in the state of Maryland that the Ravens and the Washington Commanders could share with a lot of employment emanating from DC,” Smith said on Monday.
“Because, again, you wouldn’t have to worry about stuff like this. That’s just my personal opinion.
“That was the idea I threw out last year — the Ravens and the Commanders should actually share a stadium.
“You’ve got a minimum of 17 to 18 weeks where you’ve got games there, plus playoff games and all of that stuff, plus events in the offseason.
“And it’s the state of Maryland that you have to deal with, instead of this nonsense.”
Sharing stadiums is not uncommon in the NFL, and two sets of teams already do that.
The New York Giants and New York Jets have played on the same site in New Jersey since 1984, while the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers have both called SoFi Stadium, which has hosted a Super Bowl, home since 2020.
However, the plan is less appealing for the Commanders and Ravens, given the teams are located around an hour’s drive from one another.
Washington have long been trying to return to the city, where they played at RFK Stadium for three decades between 1961 and 1996, before moving to Northwest Stadium.
The Ravens, meanwhile, are already renovating M&T Bank Stadium with a series of significant projects that will evolve the gameday experience for fans.
Unsurprisingly, Smith’s suggestion that the two teams should buddy up was met with backlash on social media.
“Tell me you know nothing about Baltimore and DC fanbases without telling me,” one wrote.
“No, no, no. No stadium sharing. Fans like their OWN stadium. They deserve that,” another said.
“Such a horrible idea, just makes it inconvenient for everyone,” a third wrote.
“Another horrible take by Stephen A. Smith…” a fourth concluded.
It’s highly unlikely that the Commanders and Ravens will ever end up sharing a stadium, even if Smith thinks it’s a great idea.
And while Trump has threatened to block plans for a new stadium in DC, his ability to hold up the deal remains to be seen.
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