Washington Commanders' Mark Clouse on building a $3.7B stadium and the NFL's next era

Nathan, how are you?

Morning.

Thanks for getting up early today.

Yeah, I think it's as people often ask me about that seems so far away. It opens in 2030. Every single week from now until then, there are milestones that we have to deliver. And I'm happy to say things are going very well. I'm very lucky to be working with the district, especially the mayor and the district council, that really kind of get it. They understand the economic significance and what this means to DC, to not just build a stadium but develop the community which has always been the vision, and so that makes life a lot easier. We really are rowing in the same direction and so far so good. If you drive by the site, you'll see construction out there working. Right now we're doing storm sewers, infrastructure work, and next spring will be the official groundbreaking as we start going up, not going down. And so, that's exciting and right on schedule, right on track.

Well, I think you know there are a million decisions in a stadium and I'm embroiled right now in everything from the width of the columns on the front of the stadium to the carpeting in the suit to the video boards and how big can they actually be and can I make the seats shake in the stadium. So there's a lot of what I would call small decisions, but I think the biggest decision is really making sure that we anticipate all the needs of the stadium and the construction and that we ensure that when we're done, we've anticipated all of the different uses, how to make it operationally efficient, sustainable. And those are probably where we spend a great deal of our time.

Well, I can tell you that from the very beginning of this journey, the vision was to be much more than just a stadium. I think Josh Harris, who owns the team, has a real commitment, really a legacy that he wants to create by developing a community. And the great thing about DC is we actually have some really good examples already, right? Whether it's Nats Park and Navy Yard and Audi Field, Cap Center, a lot of really good examples. And one of the things that helps us a lot in the RFK site is that that was a stadium. So we're not cutting it into an urban area. We're actually taking something that had kind of been abandoned, utilizing that as the anchor and then developing the community out from it. And when you think about being surrounded by the Anacostia waterway and the neighborhoods that we can connect with this project, it really is transformative.

Yeah, I mean, this is a significant footprint, arguably the largest footprint of mixed-use development around any sports facility in the country. It's going to have a little bit of everything. I mean, really what we want it to be is a thriving community, not just an entertainment center, but a fully integrated community. And one of the things that's interesting about this project that I learned is that because we have a roof on the stand, which was controversial even for us in thinking about what we want, but the mayor was steadfast on that and we've come to really appreciate and agree. But one of the benefits of that is that building will be operational, we hope, 200 nights a year. And that means that the people that work at the stadium have full-time jobs and careers. So living in the community, working at the stadium is really powerful. It's a real tool or catalyst for attracting the development. And that's something that we think is really key in making this community come to life.

Yeah. Well, I want to hit it out of the park for the draft first and I'm very confident we can do that. Events DC is a partner of ours here that's really a pro and again the NFL's playbook on this is incredible. If you've watched the last couple, these have become amazing events to bring fans together and provide access. And for me, this is just a really special moment for our fans to be able to be part of it in their hometown and home area. And look, we have big ambitions. We do that really well. I think you'll see us campaigning for a Super Bowl and I think that's certainly possible.

I think that just to probably take a little bit of a macro view on this, the world of sports is very much in a transformative moment. Nostalgically people may think about the days of these businesses being small family-run operations where you really operated it almost like a cash business, working on the basics and the foundation focused on football. Today's world when you're reaching double digit billions, these are midcap companies, right? These are operating with a commercial need and commercial operation that is far more significant. And so I do think teams are going to match that opportunity of value and continue to strive to increase their capability in operating and optimizing while still supporting what we believe is the most important thing, which is keeping the product on the field competitive, exciting, fan-centric. And I think that's what the NFL has done extremely well. And to answer your question, I do think it's sustainable. One thing that's interesting about the NFL is there is no other original content that's created that draws the number of eyeballs to it the way the NFL does. If you compare it to anything else, an interesting statistic is the 25 most watched programs of 2025, 23 of them were NFL games. I think one was the State of the Union and it might be the college football championship was the other one. But short of that, that's the product. And when you're commanding that kind of attention and focus, these valuations in a very scarce asset pool, I very much think so. And you'll see the NFL continue to make progress on media and other areas where that value will continue to be justified within the context of what the business is doing.

I think the league has done actually a very good job and it's something, being relatively new to the world of sports, I've been very impressed with what I would describe as from a business world, you're always looking for a well-articulated vision and long-term strategy. And I think the NFL's is world class. What they're very purposeful in doing is thinking about how to continue to cultivate support and build the fan base of the NFL. You see that in a variety of different examples, whether it's expansion globally or the breadth of some of the platforms to give fans opportunities across a variety of different ways to engage with the league. And I think that is where consumers are going when it comes to media. The idea that we have product that's available in a variety of different ways to our consumers that match their lifestyle, how they engage with media, I think is the bigger opportunity. And as we've watched some of this, the success has been incredible. We were part of a Christmas day game last year against the Cowboys. Didn't quite finish the way I wanted it to, but it was a great platform and great event and we did that on Netflix and it was extremely well executed. And I think fans are getting a tremendous product. So I think if we really look at how consumers behave, we're really trying to meet them where they are, and that's more of the vision or the objective.

I think that what's most important to us and I think the NFL has been very wisely guarded is ensuring that we protect the integrity of the game. That's the most important thing, that fans know that they're getting a fair product and that what they're experiencing is authentic, real, and guarded. So I think our perspective is we want to make sure that's the case and where we feel good about our partners that we have in the league and some of the sports books that have really been responsible and proactive. I think we want to see how this unfolds before anyone makes any major judgment one way or the other.

Yeah. My friend John at Sports Illustrated and ESPN. So one of the things that I think is interesting. People ask me coming from the business world, what's the same? What's different? And I kind of describe it as 50/50. 50% of it's just business, right? You're driving revenue, you're managing cost, all the things that you would do in any company. And then the other 50% is a little more unique. One of which is the fact that as I tell people affectionately, people like soup a lot, they love football. It's a whole different level of emotion and connectivity. They will find me and let me know what they think. And I love that. But one of the areas where I do think there's some value that can be delivered and certainly we have somewhat of a unique set of circumstances with the Commander brand and the history of that and how it became the name of the team. So one thing that we're really trying to do is ensure that in any brand that I've ever worked on, you want to be very protective of equity. So you want to be very careful that you're not unintentionally diluting what the brand is. And that's really what the premise of the Oreo idea where we did wildly creative mashups with other brands, wild cream in an Oreo, but you always saw the Oreo blue on the package. You always saw when we would advertise, you would see a parent and a child with the cookie together experiencing that Oreo moment of twist, lick, and dunk. You did that forever. That's been proven for the last 80 years. And I think here at the Commanders, what we've really tried to do is reach back into the equity of the Redskins and the team's heritage and try to connect it better with where we are today. And I think fans missed much of the things, even the color, right? Even that burgundy and gold. And so you saw us this year bring back new jerseys that are really old jerseys, but it's really connecting the past to the future. That's really what the goal is. And trying to bring the elements and the equities that we want back into the franchise. So there's your Oreo analogy to football. Didn't know it could be made, but it can.

I think everything is yes, of course. Everything in moderation. I tell people, it's funny. Oreos. Those are two very uniquely different things, but they both have one thing in real common, and that is the emotional benefit that you get from eating them both. Chicken soup on a cold day when you're not feeling great, nothing better. And Oreos just help you get through a lot of tough times. That's all. I'm not going to lie, I might have ate a couple Oreos last year.

No, not this year.

Appreciate it, Nate. Thank you.