From 2004 to 2010, Washington had the largest seating capacity in the NFL, with more than 91,000 seats at FedEx Field. But as the team has struggled on the field and alienated fans with off-field controversy, FedEx Field renovations have consistently reduced the number of seats, as the team couldn’t fill the stadium. And now the team is planning a new stadium that would be smaller still.
The Commanders are currently proposing a new stadium in Virginia that would have just 55,000 seats, making it the smallest in the NFL, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Although nothing is finalized with the team’s new stadium, Commanders President Jason Wright acknowledged that the Commanders are likely to end up playing in the smallest stadium in the league.
“We are much more likely to build the smallest venue in the NFL than the largest,” he told the Virginia Mercury.
A 55,000-seat stadium would be too small to host a Super Bowl and some of the other major events that NFL stadiums attract, but Washington sounds set on going in the opposite direction after once leading the league in attendance.