President Donald Trump wants the planned stadium for the Washington Commanders, an NFL team based in the nation’s capital, to be named after him.
“It’s what the president wants, and it will probably happen,” the source added.
The White House and a Commanders spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
But the decision to put Trump’s name on the new stadium may not be solely up to the team, a source with firsthand knowledge of the process told ESPN.
The Commanders own the new stadium’s naming rights, presumably to sell to a corporate sponsor. But the District of Columbia Council, which approved the project, would likely decide whether to commemorate an individual in the name of the stadium.
The D.C. Council will lease the stadium to the Commanders and the National Park Service, which manages the 180-acre federal government land the 65,000-seat stadium will be built on.
“The team doesn’t have the authority. They can’t name the stadium … on their own,” the unnamed source told ESPN. “The city would be involved in that decision, and the Park Service would be involved.”
Most NFL teams have sold their naming rights to corporate sponsors for hundreds of millions of dollars—but the unnamed source with knowledge of Trump’s wishes told ESPN that Trump doesn’t want to buy the name or have a corporate sponsor buy it for him.
“He has cards to play. He can make it very difficult, through government environmental approvals and other things, to make sure everyone who wants this stadium to be built will join to put his name on it,” the source with knowledge of the stadium deal told ESPN. “Trump has plenty of cards to play to get his way.”
The D.C. Council and the National Park Service didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Washington franchise changed its logo and name in 2020, and was called the Washington Football Team for two years. The Commanders have had their current name since their 2022 season and have said they will keep it, despite Trump’s demands.
