The Washington Commanders are one step away from completing the long walk home from Landover to D.C., following a successful outcome to the latest council vote on a deal initially announced back in April.

Co-owner Josh Harris confirmed that his dream of returning the team he supported as a youngster to its spiritual home on the site of the former RFK Stadium had been all but realised as the D.C. Council voted 9-3 in favour of backing a revised financial plan for the 174-acre ‘campus’, which would realise the new stadium as well as 6,000 housing units — including 1,800 designated as ‘affordable’ — and a mix of retail space and parkland. Although the council is obliged to vote again in mid-September, the Commanders have been told that they can proceed with the planning process, as the second ballot is ‘all but a formality’.

“Today’s approval by the council is transformational for D.C. and brings the Commanders back to our spiritual home,” Harris said in a statement over the weekend. “Like many fans, RFK was the site of memories that fuelled my love for this team and this city. Now we’re closer than ever to reigniting that energy for a new generation.”

The road back to RFK has been rocky for Harris and his team, with other sites in both Maryland and Virginia initially being considered before the possibility of ‘coming home’ become more of a reality once the US Senate passed a resolution transferring the land from federal government to the District of Columbia. The DC Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalisation Act still had to survive ‘pass interference’ from Elon Musk who, days before the crucial December vote, retweeted a headline claiming that the alleged $3bn cost of a new stadium ‘should not be funded by your tax dollars’, prompting one former team official to proclaim that they thought the deal ‘was dead’ due to immediate taxpayer backlash.

Since April’s confirmation that the Commanders would be returning to Washington, pending the small matter of council votes and with the team contributing $2.7bn to the overall $3.7bn project cost, it has also faced a limp threat from no less than US president Donald Trump, who threatened to block the move unless the team reverted to its old, controversial, nickname but nothing more has been heard from the White House since.

Council chairman Phil Mendelson has suggested that the revised agreement would eventually net the city around $779m through a combination of profits or savings, and this appears to have convinced the council to vote in favour.

“This is a historic moment,” Harris concluded. “This project is about more than delivering a world-class stadium worthy of our players, fans and the region. It’s about revitalising a critical part of our city, creating thousands of jobs and unlocking long-term economic benefits for the District. We look forward to working with our fans, residents, community leaders and elected officials to deliver on this vision — and are incredibly grateful to the mayor and the council throughout this process for their leadership and guidance.”