To anyone with a general interest in the NFL or DC sports as a whole, the stigma behind the home of the Washington Commanders is well known. FedEx Field remains widely regarded, most vocally by its attendees for football, as one of the worst arenas in the NFL. This conviction isn’t held undeservingly, though, as Washington fans will also tell you there are plenty of reasons to despise the stadium beyond the tragic record its team has incurred over recent years. The grievances against FedEx can be summed up to two main points:

First and foremost, the stadium is in terrible condition. FedEx Field has had multiple, very recent incidents of broken infrastructure ruining the football experience of fans and players alike. In a 2021 game, a pipe burst occurred that spilled water onto fans sitting just below. Washington denied such a leak, however, and instead claimed it was rainwater.

Later, right after a 2022 game against NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, the railing above the away team’s tunnel collapsed under the weight of fans waiting to see their favorite players. This resulted in serious injuries sustained by multiple attendees, also only narrowly avoiding harm to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Then, just this last season, players on both sides of the Nov. 19th game last year against the New York Giants were met with less than adequate locker room experiences. Per players for both teams, the showers of the locker rooms at first did not work, before only dispensing cold, low-pressure water after the Giants’ win of 31-19.

Even the field played on by the Commanders has claimed casualties in its degenerative state. No better example rings in the minds of NFL fans than the infamous, tragic ACL tearing of Washington’s then-rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin, believed to be the franchise’s legacy quarterback for years to come, met his sorrowful fate after attempting to recover a fumble in the wild-card round of the playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks in 2013, the terrible conditions of the dirt-ridden field being largely at fault. In this same contest, an identical injury happened to another player on the Seahawks.

If the arena alone was Fedex’s problem, it could perhaps see renovations to reestablish its legitimacy as a decent home for the Commanders. However, the other (perhaps more controversial) reason it’s time to move on is its location.

FedEx Field resides in Landover, MD — part of Prince George’s County. On one hand, the area is considered a poor choice to remain Washington’s home for the high crime rates around the stadium, which are some of the highest compared to other NFL stadiums. Local residents have also asserted that the traffic and other inconveniences it has brought are not worth the little benefit the arena brings to the city or county.

On the other hand, some of the community recognizes the potential of the stadium to bolster the local region’s wealth if invested in. Landover and PG County as a whole have some pockets of poverty that would be aided by economic growth surrounding the stadium, such as a hotel, convention center and other attractions. These additions would bring the much earlier, though never bestowed, revitalization to an area that has asked for such for a long time.

Team owner Josh Harris, though also investing $40 million into FedEx Field before this season, has repeatedly exclaimed his desire to relocate. This would likely result in a new field being built somewhere in Virginia, not far from DC, and a state that’s equally filled with Washington fans.

Whether Landover and close supporters are truly better off or not with the potential relocation of the Commanders is debatable, but it is clear that FedEx Field is inadequate as a base of operations for the players, staff and fans of the organization. Whatever choice Harris and Washington’s leadership makes, most can agree that it better break the bitter continuity of the failure that has been FedEx, whether that is with serious investment and revitalization or outright relocation to somewhere else.