Donald Trump will reportedly announce on Monday afternoon that Washington D.C. has been chosen as the host city for the 2027 NFL Draft.
According to Axios, the president is set to unveil the US capital as hosts alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Commanders owner Josh Harris at the White House.
The plan is for the draft to be held at Washington’s iconic National Mall in two years’ time.
Trump has an unspecified sports-related announcement scheduled for 1pm ET, according to his Monday schedule released by the White House.
Despite being the nation’s capital, Washington has not hosted the NFL Draft for a staggering 84 years, with New York and Philadelphia dominating from 1944 up until the former became sole hosts in 1965.
It took 50 years for the NFL to break that longstanding tradition by handing Chicago the 2015 and 2016 events, but since then the league has chosen a new host each year.
Donald Trump will announce on Monday that Washington D.C. is hosting the 2027 NFL Draft
The president is set to unveil the US capital as hosts alongside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (left) and Commanders owner Josh Harris (right) at the White House
The plan is for the draft to be held at Washington’s iconic National Mall in two years’ time
This year’s NFL Draft, which took place last week, was held in Green Bay, while the 2026 showpiece is being staged in Pittsburgh.
Washington has been selected as draft hosts just days after the Commanders and D.C. officials announced a plan to bring the team back to the city with a new arena on the site of the old RFK stadium.
At the end of April, Harris and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced they are moving back to the site they occupied from 1961 to 1996.
Currently, RFK Stadium stands on the site on the banks of the Anacostia River in the eastern part of the city. The building has been in the process of a prolonged demolition that has been delayed multiple times.
The building was closed back in September 2019, but structural demolition has only begun this year.
The announcement from Harris and Bowser came with renderings of what the new stadium might look like – including a clear West-facing façade that offers views straight up East Capitol Street NE toward the US Capitol building and the Washington Monument.
The planned construction will see a roof added onto the building, allowing it to be a possible venue for a Super Bowl.
Washington has been chosen as hosts after the Commanders unveiled their new stadium plans
Currently, the old RFK Stadium continues to stand – despite being set for demolition since 2019
Estimated costs for the stadium are hovering around $4billion. If it sticks to that price tag, it would be the second-most expensive stadium ever built – behind SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The construction of this stadium is pending final approval from the DC City Council, but it is expected a deal will be reached.
Under their former name, the Commanders moved to then-named DC Stadium after spending over two decades at the now-demolished Griffith Stadium.
After 35 years at RFK Stadium, the team moved to the suburb of Landover, Maryland and the then-named Jack Kent Cooke Stadium.
